Beverly Hills Cop Trivia & Discussion Question

Hopefully everyone in Phase II enjoyed the conclusion of our first movie, Beverly Hills Cop. Here are some interesting facts about the movie that you may not have known:

1. Several other actors - including James Caan, Al Pacino, Mickey Rourke, and Sylvester Stallone - were originally interested in playing the role of Axel Foley. Eddie Murphy was hired only two weeks before shooting began.

2. The first draft of the script was finished in 1977, about eight years before the movie was made.

3. The entire movie took just over six months make, from when shooting began to when the film was released.

4. Much of Axel's dialogue, including the scene where he tells the "supercop" story about Taggart and Rosewood, was unscripted and improvised by Eddie Murphy while the cameras were rolling.

5. Director Martin Brest makes a cameo appearance at the end of the movie, as the receptionist who checks Axel out of the Beverly Palms Hotel.
6. The movie has earned more money than any other R-rated film in U.S. history except The Passion of the Christ (2004) and The Hangover (2009).

On Friday, Chi and Wayne will post a link to a survey about the movie (you'll be required to take this survey as part of your weekend homework). Today, however, I would like you all to think about and carefully answer the following question:

Axel Foley, the main character of Beverly Hills Cop, does a lot of dishonest things. He ignores orders from his bosses, breaks rules, cheats, steals, tricks, and lies to pretty much every other character in the movie. In spite of all this, do you think Axel is a hero? Why or why not?

Using the 'Comment' function at the bottom of this post, please write a short paragraph (at least five sentences) in response to this question. Try to be as specific as you can, and use specific details and examples from the movie to support your answer. Please post your answer BEFORE the end of the day on Friday, Jan. 28.

I look forward to reading your comments!

Beverly Hills Cop Survey

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/GCJGWDL

NOTE from Greer (2/1/2011): there seem to be some technical glitches with the format of the second question on this survey. I will make sure to let you know as soon as Chi, Wayne, and I have resolved the glitches so that you can successfully take the survey. Stay tuned!

NOTE from Greer #2 (2/2/2011): Chi and Wayne have fixed the technical glitches. Please take the survey as soon as possible - and no later than Monday, February 7. Thanks!!

Fun with Surveys

Hello, everyone!

This semester in Phase II, we are going to try something new. Instead of writing Class Recaps, all Phase II students will take turns using an online tool called SurveyMonkey to make surveys/discussion question "quizzes" about the movies we watch in class.

Students in Phase II: I will announce more details about this assignment later, but for now I wanted to show you all an example of a survey I made so that you can start to get an idea of the kind of work you will have to do.**

Students in Phases I and II: Answering the questions on this example survey is required. Your answers will help Alan and I get to know more about you as a class, and it will also help us to select movies/examples of American culture that you will find interesting and fun!

To access the survey, please copy and paste the following link into your web browser:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/D6VBZ8K

Once you access the survey, you will see that there are nine questions. Please answer all of them - they are short, so it shouldn't take you very long (approximately 10 minutes). As always, feel free to let me know if you have any questions!

**NOTE for Students in Phase II: After you sign up for SurveyMonkey, you will see that there are many kinds of questions you can use and many styles of surveys you can make. The one I have made is just an example - I hope you will be as creative as possible and not hesitate to use different kinds of questions than the ones I chose!

Technology!

Dear Phase II students:


This semester, in order to complete some of your course assignments, you will need to create Blogger.com and SurveyMonkey accounts. More details are included in the syllabus and will be announced in class, but for now please make sure you have signed up for both of these accounts no later than the beginning of class on Friday, January 21.



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”


How to create a SurveyMonkey account:

1. Go to http://www.surveymonkey.com
2. Click the yellow “Sign up FREE” button (near the top right corner of the screen)
3. You have three options:
a. Choose and enter a username, choose and enter a password, re-enter (or “confirm”) the same password, enter your email address, and click “Create Account”

-- OR --
b. Sign up automatically using a Google account
I. Click “Sign Up with Google” – a pop-up window will open
II. Click “Allow” (in the middle of the pop-up window on the left)

-- OR --
c. Sign up automatically using a Facebook account
I. Click “Sign Up with Facebook” – a pop-up window will open
II. Click “Allow” (in the bottom right corner of the pop-up window)



As always, if you have questions, please don't hesitate to let me know!

Welcome!

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

Alan and 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.

We are especially excited that you will be able to share information and ideas about movies (and American culture) with classmates from both Phase I and Phase II.

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.

Any questions? Please let me know!