Hello, everyone!

We've just finished watching "Poltergeist," a movie with a lot of scares and thrills, about a malevolent ghost that terrorizes a suburban family.

A lot of people enjoy scary movies -- even if they scream and hide and peek through their fingers as they watch. What compels us to watch movies that frighten us? Do you like scary movies? Write a paragraph and tell us your views, and why you think scary movies are so popular.

Good day, all!

We just finished watching "Ghost," which shows one interpretation of what happens after death.

Different cultures around the world have a variety of beliefs about what happens when we die. Take a moment and write a paragraph describing what you think happens after death. As always, we look forward to reading your thoughts.

Hi everyone!

I hope you all enjoyed watching "The Shawshank Redemption". For your next blog entry, please share your opinion of the film with us all by writing a short movie review. We all look forward to reading your thoughts.

Big

Big Welcome back to the blog! For your homework tonight, please attach a comment giving your ideas about the following topic: In order, what are five important things that happened in the movie Big? Why were these events important? Thanks, everyone. Alan and I are looking forward to reading what you write!

According to Vincent

At the beginning of the movie Collateral, Vincent tells Max what he thinks about Los Angeles:

"Tell you the truth, whenever I'm here I can't wait to leave. It's too sprawled out, disconnected. You know? ... 17 million people. This has got to be the fifth biggest economy in the world and nobody knows each other. I read about this guy who gets on the MTA here, dies. Six hours he's riding the subway before anyone notices his corpse doing laps around L.A., people on and off sitting next to him. Nobody notices."

The story Vincent tells, in addition to being shocking, is a pretty strong (and not very positive!) statement about what he thinks people in Los Angeles are like.

So, what does Vincent think about Los Angeles? Do you agree with him? Why or why not?

Please share your thoughts in the form of a "comment" on this post. (You don't need to write very much, but you should write in complete sentences.) Please do this by class on Friday, Sept. 30.

That movie with Tom Cruise in it

Hi everyone,

Sorry for the late posting on this! Here is Monday's homework (due Wednesday). It is based on the movie we started watching - Collateral.

From the part of the movie that we watched, please write a comment sharing your thoughts in the following three areas ...

1) Examples of American culture (at least 3 examples; try to see if you can find any examples that are unique not just to the U.S. in general but to Los Angeles in particular!)
2) Compare this movie to the other movies we've seen so far this semester (4-5 sentences)
3) Explain what you think will happen next (4-5 sentences)

Let me know if you have questions!

Plot Questions, Opinion Questions

Hi everyone,

My apologies for the late posting on this assignment - but you can now upload your responses to the Beverly Hills Cop questions you had for homework this weekend!

As we discussed in class, you'll need to answer two questions: one question from the "plot" section of the handout (this question was assigned to you in class on Friday), and one question of your choice from the "opinion" section of the handout.

Please be sure to state which "plot" question you are answering (you can include a short sentence or even just a heading with the number of your question - no need to get fancy or re-type the entire question!).

As always, I look forward to seeing what you write. Happy posting!

AC in BHC

Part of your homework for class today was to write down some examples of American culture that you saw when we watched the first part of Beverly Hills Cop.

Remember that we have defined culture as "the behavior, beliefs, values, attitudes, and customs of a particular group of people" (adapted from dictionary.com). Any criteria can be used to define culture: someone's age, nationality, religion, race, ethnicity, profession, and/or hobbies can all play a role in determining the culture (or cultures) to which he or she belongs.

For your homework tonight, pick one of the examples of American culture that you wrote about and write a brief comment on this post. In your comment, please answer the following questions:
a) What example of A.C. did you choose, and how is that example shown in the movie?
b) How is this example of American culture different from a similar example in your home country's culture?

Make sure to write your comment before the beginning of class on Friday. Let me know if you have questions!

Los Angeles History

Hi everyone,

Here are the instructions for your mini-presentations (due Wednesday):

Pick 5 events from your section of the timeline. For each event, explain:

- what happened (a brief summary of the events)

- why this event was important or interesting to your group

- how this event is related to present-day Los Angeles

Let me know if you have any questions. Remember, you will have just 10 minutes at the beginning of class on Wednesday to prepare with your group. You may need to spend some time outside of class getting your presentation ready.

Good luck!

The Great Timeline Experiment

Hi everyone,

It's time for your first blog assignment! Before class on Friday (Sept. 2), please post your answers to the following questions. You may discuss answers and ideas with your classmates, but you need to make sure you respond individually.

Phase II students: answer all three questions (100 words minimum per question, 300 words total minimum).

Phase I students: answer question #2 only (150 words minimum).

1. When you first visited or moved to L.A., what were some of your earliest impressions? Did you know much about L.A. history before completing the timeline exercise? If so, what?

2. What were two of the most surprising things you read or learned about in the timeline? Be sure to use your own words, and to mention at least one new thing (something that the people who posted before you did not mention).

3. How have your ideas about L.A. history and/or culture changed since completing the timeline exercise? What do you know (or think) about the city that you didn't know (or think) before?

Thanks, everyone. Let me know if you have any questions!

Welcome! & Blogger.com

Dear Phase I & Phase II Students,

Welcome, everyone, to the American Culture Fall 2011 Class Blog!

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

You will use this site to post homework assignments, continue class discussions, reflect on the movies we watch, and 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 in class about some of your first homework assignments.

This semester, in order to complete some of your course assignments, you will need to create a Blogger.com account. More details are included in the syllabus and will be announced in class, but for now please make sure you have signed up for this account no later than the SECOND day of class (Monday, August 29, 2011).

How to create a Blogger.com account:

1. Go to http://www.blogger.com
2. Sign in using your Google account username and password

-- OR --
3. If you don’t have a Google account:
a. Click the “Get started” button (under the Don’t have a Google Account? heading in the middle of the screen)
b. Enter your email address (it does not have to be a Gmail address)
c. Enter your email address again
d. Choose and enter a password (you will be asked to enter it twice)
e. Choose and enter a display name (this name will appear attached to every blog post and comment that you create)
f. Enter your date of birth
g. Copy the letters next to the “Word Verification” heading into the space provided
h. Click the “Acceptance of Terms” box
i. Click the orange arrow marked “Continue”