In “Hoop Dreams,” two boys named Arthur Agee and William Gates from the inner-city of Chicago strive to earn college scholarships and become professional basketball players in the NBA. We watch as the two players fight to rise to the top through as they endure the hardships of coming from the inner-city. They must face the realities of their financial struggles as well as the hardships of injuries. We watch Arthur’s family struggle due to his father’s drug addiction and watch as his water and power are both shut off. Arthur’s mother makes only $268 a month. William’s father is not present as he has not been around for several years. This leaves both families relying heavily on the support of their extended families
Arthur and William both attend St. Josephs’s high school, a school well known for producing collegiate and professional athletes, especially in comparison to that of their inner-city public schools. They both are recruited and receive scholarships to play there because of their talent. They commute an hour and a half every day, both to and from school. Unfortunately, Arthur does not play as well as expected and loses his scholarship and therefore can not afford to play at the school, although he was recruited with the school’s intention to cover his tuition. His tuition money goes to further fund William, who made the varsity team as a freshman and shows greater potential than Arthur. William attends elite basketball camps, further fostering his talent and potential, while Arthur stays home over the summer and works a low salary job. William becomes injured which impairs his ability to play and did not perform well enough on his ACTs. This deteriorates his chances of playing at many top colleges for basketball. Fortunately, both boys end up attending college due to their success in basketball, unlike many of the other kids from their inner-city neighborhood.
2 replies on “ERA: “Hoops Dreams””
I enjoyed reading your summary of the movie, Elizabeth. And myself being a sports film fanatic myself, I have watched this movie several times and am always moved by the ebb and flow of emotion throughout the movie.
It is a sad truth, but many who live in the low to middle classes of society will not get the same opportunities in choosing schools or education. Usually wealth can be associated to attending a good college or being able to progress further in athletics, and sadly it makes sense. If two young boys are born at the same time, but are brought up in completely different socioeconomic situations in the country, they will live completely different lives. A boy living in the inner city of Chicago, usually will not have parents who are making a lot of money, they are usually born to single mothers and being a boy in the family, they are usually looked upon to become the man of the house and when they are of age, to get a job and help support the family. The boy born in the suburbs in a two parent household will probably not have to provide for his family when he turns 16 and can rather focus on schooling, becoming a better man and excelling in sports. The boy in the inner city simply does not have the time and usually energy to “shoot” for a college scholarship or to put all of their free time into school and will thus, most likely, continue on the path that his parents have laid out for him.
This reality is realized in the movie when Arthur and Will are battered down by the social constructs of society multiple times, it ends up working out for them in the end, but this is an anomaly that does not always happen to everyone.
I think you did a good job summarizing the long movie in only a short ERA. I play basketball and understand some of the stuff the boys in this movie go through from an athletics standpoint but can’t say the same when it comes to their Homelife. It is clear that these two boys are great kids who have a good set of morals, work hard, and care about others. It is unfortunate that they had to grow up in the harsh conditions of the inner city but Im happy to see that they clearly make the most of what they have and become successful.