Body Quote by Rick Moody
“Cool is spent. Cool is empty. Cool is ex post facto. When advertisers and pundits hoard a word, you know it's time to retire from it. To move on. I want to suggest, therefore, that we begin to avoid cool now. Cool is a trick to get you to buy garments made by sweatshop laborers in Third World countries. Cool is the Triumph of the Will. Cool enables you to step over bodies. Cool enables you to look the other way. Cool makes you functional, eager for routine distraction, passive, doped, stupid.”
About This Quote
Source Essay: The New Yorker, “Cool” by Rick Moody, 2004
Cool is a socially constructed label that masks exploitation and conformity, urging people to reject it for ethical awareness.
In simple terms: Cool hides exploitation and conformity.
Key Takeaway
Reject cool to see hidden harms.
Themes
consumerism
ethics
conformity
exploitation
media
culture
Mood
critical
reflective
skeptical
Type
philosophical
social commentary
cautionary
When to use this quote
- fashion industry
- advertising
- media consumption
- political activism
- personal branding
Key Concepts
social construction
critical theory
power dynamics
Questions to Reflect On
- How does labeling something “cool” affect your choices?
- Can you create new values without the “cool” label?
A Different Perspective
Cool can be reclaimed as a positive force, not just rejected.
![“I've used the Phoenix Centrifuge to replicate what the body's going to go through on the flight up. I've also done some gravity tests with ZERO-G [a charter-flight service in Arlington, Va., that uses modified Boeing 727s to simulate weightlessness], which went great.” quote by Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/aa1/richard-branson-256_adventure_i-ve-used-the-phoenix-centrifuge-to-repl_903.jpg)
