Class Recap 11/19

  Today, we talked about Movir Taglines. What's a tagline?
  1. Te last line of a play, story, or speech, used to clasrify or dramatize a point.
  2. A phrase or catchword that becomes identified or associated with a person, group, or product through repetition.
  3. An amusing or memorable phrase designed to catch attention in an advertisement.
 
  For us, movie taglines makes us review that we learned in class, Also, it's good way to recommed movies to others. We worte taglines of our own. There have eight movies we had watched in this semester.
1. Jaws.
2. Silence of the Lambs
3. Ghost Busters
4. Happy Gilmore
5. L.A. Confidential
6. Dead Man Walking
7. The Notebook
8. Lost in Translation

  I  think we could review all of movies when we wrote taglines. It is good for us. I hope it will help us in final test. Good luck to me and you guys.

Capital Punishment in the U.S., Part 2

Thanks, everyone, for a great class discussion today - I hope you found it as interesting and thought-provoking as I did!

When I read over the handout with information about the death penalty, here are some of the facts and ideas that I found surprising:

- that the death penalty is so much more expensive than putting a convicted murder in jail for the rest of his/her life (according to the handout, California tax payers pay as much as $114 million per year MORE than the cost of life-long incarceration).

- that the death penalty appears to be applied in such a biased, discriminatory manner (according to the handout, in California convicted murderers are three to four times more likely to be sentenced to death if their victims are white than if their victims come from other ethnic groups or nationalities).

- that the death penalty appears NOT to be an effective deterrent for criminals (according to the handout, the Southern region of the United States has the highest murder rate AND the greatest percentage of executions out of any other region in the nation; the Northeastern region of the United States has the lowest murder rate AND the smallest percentage of executions out of any other region in the nation).


So now, the next question I am wondering about is as follows:

Did watching the movie Dead Man Walking cause you to change or reconsider your ideas about capital punishment (in the U.S. and/or in your home country)? Why or why not?


Using the 'Comment' function on this post, please write a short paragraph that describes and explains at least one thing or fact you learned from reading the handout. We will begin our class on Wednesday by transitioning towards talking about romantic movies and what makes a good love story, so please make sure to write your comment BEFORE then.

Capital Punishment in the U.S., Part 1

After watching the movie Dead Man Walking, and reviewing the handout with information about how the death penalty is enforced in different parts of the United States, did you learn anything new or surprising?

Using the 'Comment' function on this post, please write a short paragraph that describes and explains at least one thing or fact you learned from reading the handout. We will begin our class on Monday with a discussion of this question, so please make to write your post BEFORE then.

Have a happy and healthy Halloween weekend, everyone - see you Monday!

The Music of LA Confidential

Using the 'Comment' function on this post, please write a paragraph or two (about 150 words) in response to some of the questions that we talked about in class today:

1. What are soundtracks like in movies from your home country? Do they feature popular songs? Songs without lyrics? Traditional music? Etc ...

2. Do you think music can reinforce the message or heighten the emotional impact of a movie? If so, how?

3. Look at your handout and re-read the lyrics to the Johnny Mercer song "Accentuate the Positive," featured in the movie LA Confidential, before answering the questions below:

3a. Where in the movie (in which scene or scenes) does this song appear?

3b. What is happening to the characters while this song is playing?

3c. Why do you think the director chose to include this song in the movie?

3d. How does this song contribute to the overall “point” or “message” the filmmakers are trying to convey?

The "Real" Stars of LA Confidential

As we discussed in class today, many of the events and characters from the movie LA Confidential are based on true historical events and real people. I have posted pictures of some of these people below. Where possible, I have included pictures of their movie alter egos (e.g., a picture of the real Mickey Cohen followed by a picture of the actor who played him in the movie).

1. Veronica Lake
2. Lynn Bracken (as played by actor Kim Basinger)
3. The Real Mickey Cohen
4. The "Movie" Mickey Cohen (as played by actor Paul Guilfoyle)
5. The Real Johnny Stompanato & The Real Lana Turner
6. The "Movie" Johnny Stompanato & Lana Turner (as played by actors Paolo Seganti & Brenda Bakke)
7. The Real Rita Hayworth
8. Model Amber Smith (who plays Sue Lefferts in the movie)

Class Recap 10/18 2010

Today, we discussed about what was story of LA Confidential, which is seen so far. At that time, we were struggling to remember what it was. Finally, we did it well. We could find out 4 main characters. Then we started watching movie from the beginning part because it was too long time ago to continue each scene.

After watching, Greer gave us homework, which is about what does American dream mean to you. Therefore, we should ask that to 3 people by Friday.

Class Recap 10/15/2010

today, i'll talk about our midterm test. The test have 4 paat. First is vocabulary, part two is about movie's timeline, part three is some questions about American Culture in movie, the last part is write an essay. About a what is your favourite movie why? and the movie how change your mind in American Culture. i think if we saw all the movie and review vocabulary. your tast will be good.

Class Recap 10/13/2010

  Today, we talk about midterm on Friday. We got 2 more handouts from Happy Gilmore, and one piece paper about sth on American Culture midterm. We review three movies in today, four group write timeline from each movie. We wrote down at least 10 important events(in order)from each movie.—Happy
Gilmore, Jaws, and Slience of the Lambs.
  Greer will give us some information about Ghostbusters and Jaws, we should review all of them. Such as important event, key quotes, vacabulary, and examples of American culture. I think we need recall those movies, and take timeline from each of them, keep main message in our mind. Take easy to face on American Culture midterm.
  After this week, we finish our midterm, we will watch new movie— L.A. Confidential. And next, maybe we will watch romantic movies. Go on watch movies on Ameican Culture class and have fun.
  The last, good luck for everyone on Friday's midterm.

Handout Info: Jaws & Ghostbusters

Jaws (1975)

Characters:
Roy Scheider – Chief Brody
Richard Dreyfuss – Matt Hooper
Robert Shaw – Captain Quint
Lorraine Ray – Mrs. Brody
Murray Hamilton – Mayor Vaughn

Plot Summary:

A Great White Shark decides to make the small beach resort town of Amity his private feeding grounds. This greatly frustrates the town police chief who wants to close the beaches to chase the shark away. He is thwarted in his efforts by the town's mayor who finally relents when nothing else seems to work and the chief, a scientist, and an old fisherman with revenge on his mind take to the sea to kill the beast.

Vocabulary:

Thwarted-
Relents-
Revenge-
Resort-
Take to the sea-
Greatly-
Police chief-
Work-
On his mind-
Efforts-

Important Quotes:

“I don't want no volunteers, I don't want no mates. There’s just too many captains on this island. Ten thousand dollars for me, by myself. For that you get the head, the tail, the whole damn thing.”

“We’re going to need a bigger boat.”

==========

Ghostbusters (1984)

Characters:

Bill Murray – Peter Venkman
Dan Akroyd – Raymond Stanz
Sigourney Weaver – Dana Barrett
Harold Ramis – Egon Spendler
Rick Moranis – Louis Tully
Ernie Hudson– Winston Zeddmore

Plot Summary:
After being kicked out of their university, parapsychology professors Spengler, Stantz and Venkman decide to go into business for themselves by trapping and removing ghosts from haunted houses. After some initial skepticism, business is soon booming as The Ghost Busters rid New York of its undead. When a downtown skyscraper becomes the focal point of spirit activity linked to the ancient god Gozer, however, the problem may be more than the team can handle.


Vocabulary:

Kicked out-
Go into business-
Initial-
Skepticism-
Business is booming-
Rid-
Skyscraper-
Focal point-
Linked to-
Handle-


Important Quotes:

“Ray. When someone asks if you're a god … you say YES!”

“I'm Winston Zeddmore, Your Honor. I've only been with the company for a couple of weeks, but these things are real. Since I joined these men, I've seen shit that'll turn you white.”

Midterm Review Info

For those of you who were not in class today (or for those of you who do not have the handout in front of you and would like a quick reminder), here is some information about the MIDTERM EXAM!!!

I will be emailing you all with the handout information for Jaws and Ghostbusters later this afternoon. In the meantime, if you have questions, write me an email or ask me in Lab class tomorrow. Happy studying!

=======================================================================
Things that will be on this Friday’s American Culture midterm (10/15/10):

Movies: Jaws, Ghostbusters, Silence of the Lambs, Happy Gilmore

For each movie: important events
main characters
key quotes
vocabulary
examples of American culture AND how these examples compare to
your own culture (e.g., comparing the nursing home in Happy
Gilmore to how elderly people are treated in your home country)

Format: short answer questions (comprehension, reflection)
vocabulary matching
quote identification
definitions (culture, American, humor, etc)
timelines (putting events in order and making your own timelines)
essay
=======================================================================

North Korean Humor

A friend of mine recently sent me a link to a blog post that is about jokes told by North Koreans who have left North Korea and are nowing living elsewhere (e.g. Japan, South Korea).

When you have the time - AFTER the midterm exam is over, of course! - please take a few minutes to read the post and then tell me what you think. Do you think some or any of these jokes are funny? Why or why not? What did you learn about North Koreans and North Korean culture from reading this post?

You can find a link to the blog post here.

Enjoy! (and good luck on the midterm!!)

Class Recap 08, Oct 2010

On Friday, we discussed about what is the difference between our own country’s culture and American culture and found a lot of differences. Firstly, Depending on countries, people’s favorite sports are really different. In the movie which is “Happy Gilmore”, He used to be an ice hockey player then finally I became a golf player. Due to the fact, we realized that ice hockey and golf are one of the most interesting sports in the US. However, almost all students in our class mentioned that the both are not popular except Russians. For example, people in the US, Canada and Russia are really into Ice Hockey. Thus, we understood that sports are related with country’s culture geographically. Secondly, it is true that the way to respect elderly people is completely different each country. In the movie, we also watched Happy Gilmore’s behavior that he tends to fight with older people and abuse everyone when he was upset. On the other hand, people in Asia usually look up to elderly people, especially in Korea.

As a result, we are now able to find a lot of different American cultures such as sports and respect for the elderly, but I am still wondering why some countries should respect old people or other countries do not need to look up to them. I think it is hard to understand culture, but is really interesting to experience. Therefore, I believe that I am looking forward to something happening to me because of different culture.

Class Recap 9/24/2010

Today, we statred to talk about what makes you laugh. On this class, Greer and Alan showed us two kind of funny video. In Aleen's video, there was a iiter and cute girl dressed up like an woman, she came to an apartment to ask for rent. this cute girl doesn't as same as what she looks like, she said some bad words and drinking beer. it is very unusual and unnatural. I do not think this video is funny, because it absolutely made by adult. Alan showed us an advertisemet of vehicle. in my opinion, this video is not funny too. but i like this video, bcause it has a specially idea that makes us suprised. i do not know what kind of funny video can makes me absolutely happy. Do i think too much, or maybe i should ENJOY my life.

Class Recap 06 Oct 2010

On Wednesday class, at the begining, we discussed some question about the main characters and some story plots in "HAPPY GILMORE". We reviewed the movie that we watched on Monday's class. Then we continued to watch the rest movie.

I like the movie very much. It is fun and interesting to me. I think maybe this movie is easiler to understand for us. Because the movie is talking about personal experiance, it may happen to each people from different counties, we can think about it. So it would be confused to us. The movie we watched "Animal House", I think it is talking about the special culture fraternity from America, the other countries have not this kind of culture, we can't understand about it. In conclusion, I like the movie very much and thank you for Greer to pick this movie for us. I am expecting for the ending.

Class Recap 10/04/2010

On Monday at the beginning of class we had a discussion about professional athletes in our home countries, golf and ice hockey. We also discussed life of elderly relatives and how they are treated. I was really surprised, because there is a really big difference between taking care of them in different countries. For example in China life of old people is much better than in Russia. One more thing we discussed is what makes us angry and how does our culture view people who are angry.

After that we started watching the movie 'Happy Gilmore'. It's about a guy who dreamed to be an ice hockey player, but he started golf career because of some conditions.

Class Recap Oct. 1

On Friday, we've discussed about the humour, and how people from different countries feel it. Each country has its own culture, values, which are differents than the other countries, and this point can influence the point of view of people about the humour. For example, american humour, which is usually too much and stupid, can make laugh a lot of people, and others not. Some countries enjoy it, and others not. For example, french people love american humour, and the majority of comedies are american.
In the second part of the class, we watched some funny videos, that we had to find from youtube, of some students. For example, we watched a video with a baby laughing, an other from Greer, with funny hip-hop hamsters dancing for an ad, a video with people who are falling down and hurt themselves, and so on. After the end of each video, Greer asked us to tell if you find it funny or not. And we've noticed that the opinions were contrasted. And we also distinguished two types of humour : real humour coming from real life, and fictive humour coming from imagination.
A a conclusion we can say that each person feels the humour differently because of his/her mind, culture, and the the humour is not universel.

Class Recap - 9/29/2010

So we still want find what is funny and can make all of us laugh. We have some problems with this question because for group wich contain people from different countries it is really difficult. For example if you don't know some american culture and traditions or stereotypes you can't understand why it is happy. I also didn't unerstand some jokes in last movie that we watched( it was about students life in dermatoty and some troublemakers). But I think Greer will find some movie that will be funny for all of us.

Class Recap 9/22/2010 - What makes you laugh?

Today, we’ve discussed about comprehension questions of the movie “The Silence of the Lamb.” There were some difficult questions to require details, and we could have different ideas. Though we had already assigned to study about questions, we needed to think carefully to set the correct answers.
After that we talked about the “Fun”. What makes you laugh? Do you think humor is cultural? We shared varied idea such as embarrassing things, slapstick humor, stupid humor, silly humor, black humor, negative humor, etc. Also most we agreed that humor is cultural due to the different customs, different experiences, and lack of information about other culture.
Finally, we watched some funny clips. First one was a Japanese one playing soccer with ridiculous clothes and motion. Second one was about playing 2 babies, and the last one was about baby landlord. For each clip, we shared our response whether it was funny or not. One interesting point we found was with watching same scene, we could have different feeling each other. For example, even if we thought stupid about something in a same way, it meant funny for someone but didn’t for others. These processes seem to give me opportunities to understand how other people think different as me. Also, I feel that I need to consider more carefully about people to reduce the gap each other.

Class Recap 09/20/2010

Today, we continued to watch movie that is Silence of the Lambs. Finally, we watched whole story about it then class was over. We did not discuss, but we going to discuss about the movie in next class. There are mamy important and serious scenes. When Lecter escape from prison, he bited policeman's face and killed him. After that he went to somewhere and called to Clarice. Clarice also find where is Buffalo Bill. She went and put in danger herself in his house, ultimately, she shot him and can helped confined woman.
We have HW: 1, Define vocabulary 2, Comment on blog 3, Read Greer's post

Would you recommend Silence of the Lambs? Why or why not?

One of the reasons I think Silence of the Lambs is such a fascinating film is that it breaks so many expectations and rules:
First, it sets traditional American images - the U.S. flag, eagles - within a dark and twisted world where many of the characters we meet and events that unfold are the exact opposite of the wholesome, patriotic view of Americans and American culture that many (or most) Hollywood movies present.
Second, it is a thriller/action movie with almost no action sequences. Unless you count Hannibal Lecter's escape from the Memphis prison or the scene near the end of the movie where Clarice feels her way through the darkened basement as Buffalo Bill hunts her, almost everything we see shows the anticipation of or build-up to an event rather than the event itself. It may not be the "scariest" movie ever, but I think it is definitely one of the creepiest.
Third, few of the main characters of the movie are who they appear to be. We (or at least I) want to hate Hannibal Lecter - he is clearly responsible for some horrible and violent deeds. But he is also perhaps the only character in the movie (other than Ardelia, Clarice's roommate) who never lies to Clarice, who treats her with respect, and who takes her seriously as a person and as a professional FBI agent. Along the same lines, Clarice Starling - clearly the hero of the movie, the one character we are supposed to "root for," and a character that I greatly admire - is far from perfect. She is impulsive, stubborn, and proud. She is also dishonest - e.g. when she lies to Lecter about the prison transfer agreement. She has trouble trusting people (although, the film seems to suggest, she has good reason for this), and she put herself and others in harm's way by refusing help and trying to do everything on her own.

Do you agree with me? Do you think Silence of the Lambs is one of the most interesting, thought-provoking, and complicated horror movies in the history of cinema, or did you mostly just think the movie was violent and gross? Using the 'Comment' function on this post, please write a complete paragraph of at least 3-5 sentences (although you might need to write a bit more) explaining to a friend 1) whether he/she should watch Silence of the Lambs, and 2) why. Please be truthful, and do not be afraid if your answer to question #1 is no. Your classmates and I are interested in reading your honest opinion. There is no such thing as a "wrong" answer!

Finally, just in case we don't get a chance to watch it in class on Wednesday, I wanted to post a link to that Smithsonian TV program/documentary that I was talking about in class earlier today. Click here to learn about the real-life criminals and FBI agents that inspired the story Silence of the Lambs.

Class Recap 09/17/2010

Today is Friday! In the American Culture class we have watched a moive called " The silence of the Lamb." we stopped at the scen when Dr. Lecter finally identify who is the "Buflo Bill." There are some scens that seem quite important. the FBI agents found out that Bill didn't kill the girls he had kidnapped right away. He left them alive for couple days, and then skined them and killed. Also, Clarice found a moth pupa inside the body of a girl who was found dead and skined in a river. And that moth pupa is the key evident that could help the FBI find out who's the murderer. Moreover, after the scene that Clarice had clarified the thing found out from the dead girl's body is a moth pupa, and then the next scene showed that the house of the person who kidnapped Catherine has many insects such as butterflies. It showed us a clue that the guy could be the Buflo Bill.

This is the recap of the movie we have watched so far.

class recap 09/15/10

Today in the American culture I have watched movie called 《The Silence of the Lambs》 is talk about some killer kill people in cruelty way. The whole city under the scary air. Young woman who is brave and smart work in the FBI, try into found this killers. Although we just watched beginning of this movie, but this movie interested me very much. I decided to watch all movie in my free time. I hope i can find out what things support the young women have so much brave to found the troth to punish the killers. After we watched beginning of this movie we have watched some pictures about American culture. One of this pictures is talk about policeman helping people, the other is about American scenery. This pictures very interesting. I enjoy this class.

Mohammed

American Culture Class

American culture is different and interesting. Our class emphasis in American culture but since I attended this class, we just watched the great movie a jaw. In addition, the movie Jaw talked about a great white shark attacked people during the summer and show how in the American culture people deal with this kind of problem. Moreover, I learned in this class not every thing that we watched in Hollywood movie might be true about American culture. However, there are some good and bad things in American culture as any culture in the world. All in all, we learned some interesting thing in American culture class.

Who is your hero?

Here are some of what I thought were the most interesting and touching comments you collected when completing your latest homework assignment:

"My hero is my big brother. Sometimes I met some problems but I can't talk it with my parents. But it always can talk to my brother. He can protect me and help me to solve my problem." (Cici)
"Audrey Hepburn, she is beautiful and sophisticated." (Aarin)
"My hero is Rockefeller. Even though there is the argument that he monopolized a market, he gave the proceeds to charitable works. I still believe that he is the person who a lot of people respect him." (Ji Eun)
"As a kid, my mom was my hero. Now that I am a mom, my kids are my heroes." (Julie)
"Chuck Norris, because he can do everything! Nothing can stop him." (Vincent)
"My heroes are the Beatles. The Beatles have used their music to teach people about war and the problems with it. And the Beatles were a source of entertainment for all ages." (unknown)
"My hero would have to be my dad because he works hard to help me and my sister to achieve our goals." (Tautis)
"My hero is Martin Luther King. He is my hero because he gave freedom to black people in the U.S." (Dominic)
"My hero is my soulmate, Stacey. She is the one always on my side, whatever I'm sad or happy. When I was lost, she give me power to start again. She supports me a lot." (Sophia)


Here are the definitions of the word hero that we discussed in class today:

1. A man (or woman) of exceptional courage or ability, admired for his (or her) brave deeds and noble qualities.

2. A sympathetic character who overcomes a series of increasingly difficult, seemingly insurmountable obstacles and achieves a compelling desire.



From these comments and definitions, as well as from what we talked about earlier today, it seems to me that there are a variety of reasons why we could admire people and consider them heroes.

Maybe a hero is someone who has given a lot of support, whether emotional, financial, or otherwise (for example, see Sophia's, Tautis', and Cici's remarks above). Maybe a hero is someone who faced many challenges and made a lot of personal sacrifices for the sake of some greater good (for example, Martin Luther King, Jr. or Abraham Lincoln).

Using the 'Comment' function on this post, please write a complete paragraph of least 5-7 sentences describing a person or people that you admire. Be sure to share your ideas about what makes that person (or people) so special and about why you admire him or her (or them) so much. ... In other words, answer the question: Who is YOUR hero, and why?

** BONUS: Click here to read a short article I wrote several years ago about one of my heroes, Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodovar.

What does "American" mean to you?

Here are some of the most interesting comments you guys collected when you completed the first class homework assignment:

"Competition and talents." (Yan)
"More freedom in China." (Mengji)
"Just a country." (Cindy)
"Everybody busy and eat fast food." (Joel)
"Challenges, diversity." (Grace)
"A country that overwhelmingly prefers creationism and conspiracy theories to any sound ..." (Peggy)
"For me, the America are the moral, the just." (David)
"I feel people have life attitude here. They live for life." (Park)
"Opportunity to make money." (Chan)
"America means a lot to me. American is paradise, where everyone can live the way they want to live. America is ... awesome." (Mariam)
"Hamburgers." (Alley)
"Very cultural country, many different country's people." (Hung)

Did reading these responses surprise you or change some of your ideas about American culture? Do you agree with these people's comments? Why or why not? Using the 'Comment' function on this post, please write at least 3-5 complete sentences describing what some of your early impressions of Americans and American culture were BEFORE you visited the U.S. for the first time. ... In other words, answer the question: What did "American" mean to YOU?

Welcome!

Welcome, everyone, to the American Culture Fall 2010 Class Blog!

I will use this site to post important information, announcements, and fun things related to our class.

You will use this site to post your Class Recaps and other homework tasks (as assigned), as well as to comment on information your classmates have posted.

Together, we will make this site a collection of our thoughts, feelings, questions, comments, musings, reflections, and rants about anything and everything related to American culture.

Please remember to check this blog regularly (at least once a day), and to stay tuned for important announcements about some of your first homework assignments.

Any questions? Please let me know!