Hoop Dreams

It's been almost 10 years since Hoop Dreams was released, but the documentary is still relevant. Hoop Dreams is about two African American teenagers, William Gates and Arthur Agee, who grow up in a depressing neighborhood, become talented young basketball players and take steps to become professional. They are recruited by a high school that has a special program for basketball players. William Gates manages to stay and Arthur Agee ends up not being able to finish high school education there, but both manage to go to college on scholarships and they both graduate. They do not become professional basketball players in the end, but the documentary gives the audience a good idea of what it is like to become a professional basketball player and what it means to have the opportunity just to go through the process for African Americans who grow up in depressing neighborhoods. I believe that not much has changed socially or economically since then and most African Americans who grow up in depressing neighborhoods go through a similar experience.

Although two African American teenagers in Hoop Dreams manage to finish college and certainly achieve more than their parents ever did, the documentary is rather depressing.

1. Their mindset is not very positive, and it seems that they acquired that mindset as they grew up, although I do not know what they are like today.

2. Whether it is true or not, they view that playing basketball is the only way to have a better life than their parents and those who live in the same neighborhood.

3. Basketball has become very much a business today, and two African American teenagers in Hoop Dreams become an integrated part of the business as they start high school. It does not seem that they enjoy being a part of the business process.

3.2. They are more or less controlled by people who take part in the business process such as high schools and colleges that have a well-organized basketball program. Because they are so young and they do not have much power intellectually or financially, much of their lives are led by others; they are not exactly leading their lives. They also seem oppressed and exploited to a certain degree.

The fact that two African American teenagers in Hoop Dreams are living a good life today is encouraging, but Hoop Dreams does not tell the happiest story in America.