Rarely is a film able to transcend its ultimate goal of entertaining the viewer. Hoop Dreams creates such a dramatic view of society that we see how much more it is than just a basketball documentary.
We are taken in to the lives of two young African-American males who happen to be aspiring basketball players. They both believe they are going to make it to the NBA and receive all the fame and riches that go with it. We wonder how they can be blinded into this type of thinking. Well seeing what goes on around them, we can realize basketball creates their escape. We see how the inner-city basketball system works, but we also see something much more important, the family structure.
In a subject that mass media passes over, we find that the struggle of lower-income African-American families in the inner-city is much more complex than society realizes. As a white male that lives in the suburbs, I am totally unfamiliar to the large problems that exist in our country. This film shows the faces behind the people that are normally generalized because of their race. Arthur Agee is playing ball with his dad at the playground when his dad goes to by some drugs. Arthur just watches him while he does it and they go back to playing. While we all know that drugs are rampant in the inner-city, we don't realize how people's lives are effect by them. This is such an accurate portrayal of what most of us that go to the movies are ignorant to. Our country is so complex that we don't really know what is going on.
The catholic high school that recruits both ballplayers represent what is wrong with the system. Is basketball more important than a child's life? No, but when Arthur doesn't pan out on the court, there is really no need for him at the school. The school's coach displays the hypocrisy of our society, but as most of us would, he doesn't realize the impact he is making to these kids future. Basketball is their tool to escape the way they currently live.
This is the most powerful film I have ever seen because I have learned so much about structure, race, power, competition, and survival from Hoop Dreams.
Some would normally be put off by a 3 hour documentary. But just think about the directors who put six years of their lives into this project. You can certainly give them the an extra hour of your time to experience such a wonderful film about life.
One of the most critically acclaimed documentaries of all-time HOOP DREAMS has become a model for how to construct a fact-based film creating intimate...More at Family Video
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