The Rebirth of Slick
Remember our ‘cut’ discussion? Well, the most effective cut is “cool.” We all want it; more importantly, we want everyone else to know we have it. Business loves cool because it can be cut into anything with a price tag. Consumers love cool because it’s the ultimate form of validation and acceptance. And if they don’t have it, it gives them something to aspire to, a sense of purpose. Being cool ranks among the noblest of American pursuits.
As I’ve learned from many a business meeting, focus group, and music video: Black folks is cool. Just ask most anyone age 12 to about 35 and they’ll tell you the same. Black athletes are cool. Black entertainers are cool. Black preachers are cool. Black music is cool. Black slang is cool. Black folks is just plain ol’ cool.
But when we say cool we don’t mean it in a timeless, James Dean/Rat Pack/cowboy sort of way. We don’t mean, “cool” in an individualistic-idealist-Jack Kerouac sort of way, either. No. We mean black people are cool as in “screw authority/scare Middle America” cool. Cool as in “jungle fever” cool. Cool as in “societal boogie monster” cool. Cool as in “its one big costume party/amusement park” cool. Cool as in “when I get bored or outgrow this, I can trash it with no real consequences” cool...
Blackness, by mainstream America’s standards at least, has always been cool like that.
Consequently, blackness is the new cut. American business and society at large marginalizes blackness into a natural resource then mines it and commoditizes it as needed. When it suits us, business mixes it into whatever we’re selling: TV Shows. Movies. Music. Sports. Fashion. Food. Cars. Jewelry. Liquor. Sex. Pick a brand, pick a service, pick a celebrity, pick a cause, even… chances are you’ll find that at least a little flava has been mixed into it. Why? Because black is cool and cool sells, therefore black sells.
But when we say cool we don’t mean it in a timeless, James Dean/Rat Pack/cowboy sort of way. We don’t mean, “cool” in an individualistic-idealist-Jack Kerouac sort of way, either. No. We mean black people are cool as in “screw authority/scare Middle America” cool. Cool as in “jungle fever” cool. Cool as in “societal boogie monster” cool. Cool as in “its one big costume party/amusement park” cool. Cool as in “when I get bored or outgrow this, I can trash it with no real consequences” cool...
Blackness, by mainstream America’s standards at least, has always been cool like that.
Consequently, blackness is the new cut. American business and society at large marginalizes blackness into a natural resource then mines it and commoditizes it as needed. When it suits us, business mixes it into whatever we’re selling: TV Shows. Movies. Music. Sports. Fashion. Food. Cars. Jewelry. Liquor. Sex. Pick a brand, pick a service, pick a celebrity, pick a cause, even… chances are you’ll find that at least a little flava has been mixed into it. Why? Because black is cool and cool sells, therefore black sells.
I’m so… Cool!
—The Time
—The Time
