In writing this post I set out with an odd mix of motivations, initially the simple desire to blog, secondly the desire to say something about iPods and wanting to say something about their chic-ness, and oddly after stumbling across the word aloof in the dictionary I really wanted to incorporate that into the post too. Here goes.
To iPod is to be chic, is to be aloof in a world of your own. Ha easier than I expected. Ha easier than you expected actually. Ha easier than yo Momma expected. And mi Momma probably.
Funny how to iPod is to be chic and aloof at the same time when the definitions of these words would suggest a paradox. Chic is to be elegant and stylish, and aloof is to be apart from people. Ok, not much contradiction at first glance but lets look closer, and lets even get a bit too close. To be chic you need exposure, to the world, to the group of people that believe what you have is chic. To be hot or not requires the endorsement of those with authority in such matters. You might be thinking, no not even! I don’t need anyone else to tell me what’s cool, Ill do whatever I wanna do gosh! and I say you go girlfriend. But I will also ask: where does our opinion of what we like come from in the first place? I think most of us give such authority to others; we expose our garments and gadgets of choice and by doing so we invite judgment and criticism on our style. To minimise such loss of face we do our best to predict what will work. Here we so subtly place authority in the Media and Marketers. These global pied pipers gladly show us how to be cool. Isn’t that why iPod is so popular? Apple got there marketing right, they convinced us it was cool before Sony or someone else did. Yes they got the product design right, and that helps, I mean it is very useful in and of its self. But it wasn’t chic till it was endorsed by their own advertising and then by consumers. Consumers who perpetuated their personal endorsement to all their friends, and to all passers by – look at me, look at me, look at me, see my bright white headphones yes I have an iPod, don’t you? everybody does, see those 5 people behind me also have the same headphones, it is obviously so cool because look everybody has one! Its the style, its the rage its the chic elite. So we see from this that to be cool, hot, or chic requires the opinions, judgments and endorsements of others. To do this involves opening up to others and allowing them into your world, which is not being very aloof. There is also the fact that if you are cool then you are popular and have lots of friends popular people are not the aloofy types.
Thus to iPod which is to be chic is to be open and involved with others. Yet to iPod is also to live life in a world of music, aloof and separate from others. We see it as people walk the streets, take the bus, eat lunch, or even as they go about life in their work places and homes. Doesn’t this stifle conversation; doesn’t it create a barrier between people? Even if it is just with strangers, it creates some separation.
This apparent contradiction that I have some how made up could be explained by the fact that we are connected with others and our environment by more than one sense. So that whilst we may make ourselves aloof in the arena of sound, we can still connect and make ourselves chic in the arena of sight.
Alright that actually became a lot harder than I and all the Mommas expected.
