Events for the Public
March 2009
All of the below events are open for the public. Please click here to register for event(s) you want to attend.
If you would like to be an American Center member, please register.
Our office is located on the 1st Floor of the Rose Garden Tower at 170 Ngoc Khanh Street, Hanoi. You can leave your vehicle at VKO Supermarket's vehicle keeping area. Remember to take your ID with you.
Introduction to Web 2.0 and Its Applications for Students
Time: 10:00-11:30, March 5, 2009
Venue: 1st Floor, Rose Garden Tower, 170 Ngoc Khanh Street, Hanoi
Today, Web 2.0 is very familiar to students and lecturers but not so many people know what it means, how it works and what it benefits to users? Please come, join and share your knowledge about web 2.0 and its free online applications as well as social networking like Facebook, My Opera and Wikis at the American Center.
Time: 14:00-16:00, March 13, 2009
Venue: 1st Floor, Rose Garden Tower, 170 Ngoc Khanh Street, Hanoi
from Amazon.com
Much will be made of Julia Roberts's wardrobe in Erin Brockovich--a brash parade of daring hemlines and Wonderbra confidence. Roberts is unabashedly sexy in the title role of this fact-based comedy-drama, but she and director Steven Soderbergh are far too intelligent to rely solely on high heels and cleavage. Susannah Grant's brassy screenplay fuels this winning combination of star, director, and material, firing on all pistons with maximum efficiency. With Ed Lachman, his noted cinematographer from The Limey, Soderbergh tackles this A-list project with the fervor of an independent, combining a no-frills look with kinetic panache and the same brisk editorial style he used in the justly celebrated Out of Sight.
Broke and desperate, the twice-divorced single mom Erin bosses her way into a clerical job with attorney Ed Masry (Albert Finney), who's indebted to Erin after failing to win her traffic-injury case. Erin is soon focused on suspicious connections between a mighty power company, its abuse of toxic chromium, and the poisoned water supply of Hinkley, California, where locals have suffered a legacy of death and disease. Matching the dramatic potency of Norma Rae and Silkwood, Erin Brockovich filters cold facts through warm humanity, especially in Erin's rapport with dying victims and her relationship with George (superbly played by Aaron Eckhart), a Harley-riding neighbor who offers more devotion than Erin's ever known. Surely some of these details have been embellished for dramatic effect, but the factual basis of Erin Brockovich adds a boost of satisfaction, proving that greed, neglect, and corporate arrogance are no match against a passionate crusader. (Trivia note: The real Erin Brockovich appears briefly as a diner waitress.) --Jeff Shannon
Join us to congratulate and watch the videos produced by Vietnam’s three finalists in the U.S. Department of State Sponsored “My Culture + Your Culture =?” International Video Contest.
Three of the top 20 worldwide finalists in the "My Culture + Your Culture" video contest are Vietnamese citizens. The video contest allowed entrants all over the world to make short videos about bridging cultures. Ten finalists were picked in four categories: International Over 18 years old, International 14-17 years old, United States over 18, and United States 14-17. In the International over 18 category, Khoa Luan from Ho Chi Minh City and Pham Minh Thu from Hanoi were among the finalists. In the International 14-17 category, Hoang Thanh Hau from Hanoi was named a finalist. A panel of celebrity judges will watch the top videos in order to select one winner and one runner-up in each category. The four international grand prize winners will be awarded a two-week cultural exchange trip to the United States, while the U.S. winners will be awarded a trip to a country outside the U.S. Visit http://connect.state.gov to see the winning videos. Winners will be announced on March 16, 2009. Congratulations and good luck to Khoa, Thu, and Hau!
Time: 14:00-16:00, March 16, 2009
Venue: 1st Floor, Rose Garden Tower, 170 Ngoc Khanh Street, Hanoi
Growing numbers of Vietnamese students are applying to U.S. universities for undergraduate and graduate study. They may have expectations of academic life in America drawn from movies or the Internet which do not reflect the reality of living and studying in the U.S. During this session, participants will have the opportunity to discuss their expectations before watching a video, Voices of Experience: Cross Cultural Adjustment, which highlights the stories of international students adjusting to life in the U.S. Following the movie, participants will discuss some of the issues raised, such as culture shock, different teaching styles, American behavior, and homesickness.
Time: 14:00-16:00, March 27, 2009
Venue: 1st Floor, Rose Garden Tower, 170 Ngoc Khanh Street, Hanoi
from Amazon.com
David O. Selznick wanted Gone with the Wind to be somehow more than a movie, a film that would broaden the very idea of what a film could be and do and look like. In many respects he got what he worked so hard to achieve in this 1939 epic (and all-time box-office champ in terms of tickets sold), and in some respects he fell far short of the goal. While the first half of this Civil War drama is taut and suspenseful and nostalgic, the second is ramshackle and arbitrary. But there's no question that the film is an enormous achievement in terms of its every resource--art direction, color, sound, cinematography--being pushed to new limits for the greater glory of telling an American story as fully as possible. Vivien Leigh is still magnificently narcissistic, Olivia de Havilland angelic and lovely, Leslie Howard reckless and aristocratic. As for Clark Gable: we're talking one of the most vital, masculine performances ever committed to film. --Tom Keogh.
Time: 16:00-17:30, March 30, 2009
Venue: 1st Floor, Rose Garden Tower, 170 Ngoc Khanh Street, Hanoi
Each country has a unique culture and its own way of doing business. The United States of America is famous for its success in business and in developing and maintaining a culture which promotes and encourages businesses to grow and flourish. What are the strengths and weaknesses of the “typical” American workplace and employee? What qualities and features of the American culture and the American people are key qualities of the American workplace? What can you expect if you work with or for an American business? What are American workers and businesses doing in response to the global economic crisis? Please join us for a frank and fun discussion with Ms. Marcie Friedman, Economic Officer.
US-Vietnam Relations
Events for the Public
