Hoop dreams, directed by steve james, is an outstanding documentary that gives the viewer a perspective on several different elements on the life of a teen basketball player. The real thing the current the criterion collection. Hoop dreams says a lot about african american life in particular and the united states society overall. Watching the film on the big screen, i was entranced by the allure my favorite sport had for the two young protagonists, william gates and arthur agee. It is at once an allegory about striving to achieve, and the politics and pressures of achievement. There is a point in hoop dreams where the story, about two innercity kids who dream of playing pro basketball, comes to a standstill while. Arthur agee and william gates are the names of the two boys who were followed from eighth grade to twelve. Compiled from more than 250 hours of footage shot over five years, this extraordinary documentary about two chicago teenagers. Feb 18, 2015 twenty years after the landmark documentary was cruelly snubbed at the oscars, we take a look at where the principals are today. The major problem with hoop dreams is that its images raise such questions but the filmmakers never explore them. This completely absorbing threehour documentary follows the lives of two innercity african american teenage basketball prodigies as they move through high school with longshot dreams of the nba, superstardom, and an escape from the ghetto.
For those who are unfamiliar with the film, hoop dreams is one of the best documentaries ever made, and its quite possibly the best sports documentary ever. Twenty years after the landmark documentary was cruelly snubbed at the oscars, we take a look at where the principals are today. The directors purpose of the film was to show that where you come from does not matter, and it isnt going to depict where you end up in life. The 1994 documentary, hoop dreams, directed by steve james, is a masterful display of human drama. Hoop dreams started out as a 30minute tv documentary about the players that frequented a community basketball court in a deprived area of south chicago. Hoop dreams is a 1994 american documentary film directed and produced by steve james, frederick marx, and peter gilbert, with kartemquin films. Because we see where william and arthur come from, we understand how deeply they hope to transcend to use their gifts to become pro athletes.
Documentary films paolo grassini december 5, 2012 the 1994 documentary, hoop dreams, directed by steve james, is a masterful display of human drama. For this weeks assignment, i chose to watch hoop dreams. At the surface level, the 1994 documentary hoop dreams seems to simply be the story of two boys, arthur agee and william gates, who dream of being nba stars. Arthur agee and william gates are the names of the two boys who were followed from eighth grade to twelve grade to do the movie. Hoop dreams analysis essay example bla bla writing. It gives us the impression of having touched life itself. We believe every one of us deserves equal access to factbased news and analysis. A film following the lives of two innercity chicago boys who struggle to become college basketball players on the road to going professional. This documentary chronicled the lives of two young basketball playerswilliam gates and arthur ageewho had dreams of making it into the nba. It takes us, shakes us, and make us think in new ways about the world around us. Guivernau movie analysis i reflection on the documentary hoop dreams 1994 plot.
Occasionally in the movie, we hear the voice of one of the filmmakers prompt a subject by asking a question. The film uses filmsouvenir because footage of boys before high school is shown. The library of congress may or may not own a copy of a particular film or video. Hoop dreams documentary analysis registered nurse rn. Hoop dreams is a story about two young men who want to become basketball players in the nba. Family pictures are used to bring outside information into the story of the two young boys, arthur and william, that accounts for time.
Hoop dreams in our writers favourite films series, christian bennett explains why the story of two teenagers aiming to make it big in basketball is a slam dunk of a documentary. Throughout the film, there is abundant footage of energetic, intense basketball playing being used to appeal to the targeted young audience. When the filmmakers began, they planned to make a 30minute film about eighthgraders being recruited from innercity playgrounds to play for suburban schools. Hoop dreams started out as a 30minute tv documentary about the. That documentaries shot on video could be movies stirred something in me and. Hoop dreams is a 1994 documentary directed by steve james. For those who are unfamiliar with the film, hoop dreams is one of the best documentaries ever made, and its quite possibly the best sports documentary ever made. This absorbing documentary follows the lives of two innercity african american teenage basketball prodigies as they move through high school with longshot dreams of the nba, and an escape from the ghetto. Hoop dreams follows the trials and tribulations of two young africanamericanbasketball standouts from chicago. On another level, it is about much larger subjects. Arthur agee and william gates are the names of the two boys who. By that point, my dreams had turned from hoops to making films, and hoop dreams was also a revelation in that regard. Hoop dreams hoop dreams hoop dreams is a story about two young men who want to become basketball players in the nba.
This intimate epic chronicles the lives of two black. Watching the film on the big screen, i was entranced by the allure my favorite sport had for the two young protagonists, william gates and arthur. Hoop dreams is a chronicle of the power of sports to fuel dreams and generate possibility in the great struggle of life. However, when examined deeper, it is clear that hoop dreams is actually about the structural racism that occurs in lowerclass neighborhoods, and about the negative effects that the resulting hoop dreams can have on a teenagers life. This film illustrates the impact of class, differential opportunities, gender and race. Hoop dreams documentary analysis for this weeks assignment, i chose to watch hoop dreams. Arthur and william are two teenage african american teenagers chasing the basketball dream.
Beginning at the start of their high school years, and ending almost 5 years later, as they start college, we watch the boys mature into men, still retaining their hoop dreams. The documentary boasts cinematic techniques and private investigating that rivals most film of this time period. Parents dont have to worry about filming games, and family members can watch from where ever they may be. It follows the story of two black high school students in chicago and their dream of becoming professional basketball players. Hoop dreams is the most powerful movie about sports ever made. With william gates, arthur agee, emma gates, curtis gates. Hoop dreams is, on one level, a documentary about two africanamerican kids named william gates and arthur agee, from chicagos inner city, who are. A film like hoop dreams is what the movies are for. Throughout the film, closeup or medium closeup shots would be used as various individuals.
When the movie picks up their stories, william gates and arthur agee are rising high school freshmen who see basketball as a way out of their neardesperate. Indeed, they relentlessly avoid analysis in favor of the star trajectories of william and arthur. Hoop dreams is a 1994 documentary film directed by steve james. The storyline is so captivating and theatrical that it seems crafted from fiction. Originally intended to be a 30minute short produced for the public broadcasting service, it eventually led to five years of filming and 250 hours of footage.
Filmed over a fiveyear period, hoop dreams, by steve james, frederick marx, and peter gilbert, follows young arthur agee and william gates and their families as the boys navigate the complex, competitive world of scholastic athletics while. Hoop dreams is a complex film that deeply explores the hopes and pitfalls of innercity life, leaving the viewer with a number of troubling questions about the future of thousands of young men like arthur and william. Coaches can use the game film as a learning tool at practices too. Oct 10, 2017 at the surface level, the 1994 documentary hoop dreams seems to simply be the story of two boys, arthur agee and william gates, who dream of being nba stars. It follows the story of two africanamerican high school students in chicago and their dream of becoming professional basketball players. One of the most critically acclaimed documentaries of all time, hoop dreams is a rich, complex, heartbreaking, and ultimately deeply rewarding film that uses high. Dec 12, 2018 hoop dreams director steve james and his team have been trailing chicago mayoral candidates for months for a film project that he is calling a mosaic portrait of the city. Many people seem to forget that great people come out of the slums. Hoop dreams 1994 written by ann kelsey cinema of the real.
Two ordinary innercity chicago kids dare to reach for the impossibleprofessional basketball gloryin this epic chronicle of hope and faith. Hoop dreams, documentary filmcinema studies bibliographies. A prodigious achievement that conveys the fabric of modern american life in closeup and at length, hoop dreams is a documentary slam dunk. The filmmaker used various techniques to develop this story over a fiveyear period, exposing the reality of the hardships that poor, black families faced in chicago, illinois. Hoop dreams follows two chicago youths, william gates and arthur agee, from their freshman year of high school to their first year of college. Hoop dreams 1994 has the form of a sports documentary, but along the way it becomes a revealing and heartbreaking story about life in america. Hoop dreams contains more actual information about life as it is lived in poor black city neighborhoods than any other film i have ever seen. Some are fanciful, some fill us with hope, some push us onwards in our darker days, and some offer a vision of escape in an otherwise desperate, deadend situation. Hoop dreams director steve james and his team have been trailing chicago mayoral candidates for months for a film project that he is calling a mosaic portrait of the city. In our writers favourite films series, christian bennett explains why. Mar 30, 2009 the film uses filmsouvenir because footage of boys before high school is shown. The idea for the book came from the documentary movie, hoop dreams, which is a true story. Compiled from more than 250 hours of footage shot over five years, this extraordinary documentary about two.
It is the story of william gates and arthur agee, two young africanamerican children growing up in the cabrinigreen housing projects of chicago. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Hoop dreams is a richly human and profoundly american film. Arthur agee has called hoop dreams both a blessing and a curse. The film tells the story of two african american boys, william gates and arthur agee, recruited to a predominantly white high school on the strength of their basketball prowess, thereafter pursuing excellence and the tantalizing possibility of careers in the often ruthless field of professional sports. Seems that director steve james, who filmed the two athletes throughout their entire highschool career, wanted to give some of the films profits to its struggling stars.
Hoop dreams hoop dreams is a story about two young men who want to become basketball players in the nba. Live streaming hoopdreamsnation colorado hoop dreams. Hoop dreams explains the lives of arthur agee and william gates. I am not fond of the sport, but had no problem in devoting close to three hours to watch the story of a couple of innercity kids in chicago, william gates and arthur agee, and their determination to make it into the nba. Roughly 250 hours of film were devoted to their journeys from the playgrounds to high school competition to college recruitment and whittled down to three hours it became the awardwinning film hoop dreams.
Hoop dreams is a documentary, and is as much about human relations and racial discrimination as it is about basketball. Film summary dreams serve varying purposes in our existence. Jazz on the screen is a reference work of filmographic information and does not point to digitized versions of the items described. Hoop dreams painstakingly tempers the romanticism characteristic high school athletes by paying special attention to the many roadblocks that stand in the way of gates and agees dreams. The film follows them through their four years of high school and their trials and tribulations. The story of hoop dreamss shutout at the 1994 academy awards has become legendary. The book hoop dreams by ben joravsky is a nonfiction sports novel that was based off of the award winning film. Documentary films paolo grassini december 5, 2012 the 1994 documentary, hoop dreams, directed by. Back in the mid90s, after hoop dreams had become a critical and commercial sensation, william gates and arthur agee nearly lost their college scholarships. Boasting an epic scale and length running time is close to three hours, hoop dreams, which i saw at its world premiere in the sundance film festival, has more passion, compassion, and suspense than most. Hoop dreams is, on one level, a documentary about two africanamerican kids named william gates and arthur agee, from chicagos inner city, who are gifted basketball players and dream of someday starring in the nba.
This movie provides an excellent way for families to talk about issues such as race and class in urban america, longterm goals, teen sex and drug use, and. Filmed over a fiveyear period, hoop dreams follows young arthur agee and william gates as they navigate the complex, competitive world of scholastic athletics while striving to overcome the intense pressures of family life and the realities of their chicago streets. It comes up frequently in conversation with other documentary filmmakers. Mar 30, 2015 for the purposes of this essay, i watched hoop dreams for the first time in nearly two decades, and i was immediately struck by how emphatically it announces itself as a movie in the opening minutes, with highly composed and gorgeously lit frames, action zooms, tracking shots, and a driving score.
We follow their steps along the path that will lead, they. The documentary shows the human sacrifices made by black american athletes trying to live their dreams amid a nightmare. Hoop dreams will close the new york film festival on sunday night at 8, the first documentary ever to do so. The description of how life can work against you in paul robert walkers hoop dreams 1,119 words. This documentary follows two innercity chicago residents, arthur agee and william gates, as they follow their dreams of becoming basketball superstars.
The filmmaker used various techniques to develop this story over a fiveyear period, exposing the reality of the hardships that poor, black families faced in chicago. It was excluded from the best featurelength documentary category along with another equally great documentary released that year, crumbabout the underground comicbook artist, creator of fritz the cat, and allaround maverick robert crumb. First exhibited at the 1994 sundance film festival, where it won the audience award for best documentary, kartemquins hoop dreams is the remarkable true story of two american dreamers. Oct 07, 1994 hoop dreams will close the new york film festival on sunday night at 8, the first documentary ever to do so. Hoop dreams director steve james on why now is the time to. The film follows arthur agee and william gates, two basketball stars, who live in the rough chicago area.
Rhetorical analysis of hoop dreams by naomi ruffin on prezi. One of the most critically acclaimed documentaries of all time, hoop dreams is a rich, complex, heartbreaking, and. The documentary can also be considered a souvenir to the boys of their time in high school and trying to reach their hoop dreams. For nearly five years arthur agees and william gates remarkable lives were chronicled by a team of filmmakers. All 3 courts at the sport stable have free live streaming through playsight. It will open in new york next friday and around the country on oct. Hoop dreams director steve james on why now is the time.
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