Hoop Dream is a documentary about two African American kids named William Gates and Arthur Agee, and they are both from the ghetto hoods in Chicago. It was a place often making a lot of good basketball players into the NBA. But have the most realistic, brutal, competition into the film. The two main characters we find in the film turned into outstanding basketball players in their high school. It speaks of the daily life of their families. The theme of the film was about the American family; there was a strong desire coming up with someone’s hope and love. In the selection of the greatest film of the 1990s, Roger Ebert thought this movie was the best documentary of Oscar Award in the meantime. Even they have crashed on the Oscar, and the reason was the movie taken almost 3 hours long. Because of his insistence, the movie still can get the consistently high rate for such a quality objective evaluation. A shortage of this movie was too common used for every sports documentary. Consider the length of the movie that doesn’t have a key turning point from developing to success. Hoop Dreams illustrate how this is palpably under some pressure that influenced the …show more content…
The storyline explained how they worked to get to the top of the professional players. From the background through family and we will understand all the pressure behind their back. A satisfactory result brings clarity and order you keep finding a way to proceed. Hoop Dream contains the way that family was going to solve the problems and risks from their children. The filmmaker used 165 minutes in all. It gives the people real life experiences to indicate true American dreams. It is about how you needed to provide support and encouragement. The immediate outlook for them remains bleak, and they didn't make the chance to going the
Remember that boy in high school that was the star of the basketball team? He still holds most of the records for the team. He scored more points than anyone else in the school’s history. He never studied much because he was an athlete. His basketball skills were going to take him places. But high school ended and there are no more games to be played. Where is that former all-star now? In his poem “Ex-Basketball Player,” John Updike examines the life of a former high school basketball star. Flick Webb was a local hero, and he loved basketball. He never studied much in school or learned a trade because he was a talented athlete. Now years later, the only job Flick can find is working at the local gas station. He used to be a star, but now he just “sells gas, checks oil, and changes flats” (19-20). The purpose of Updike’s poem is to convince the reader that athletes should also focus on getting a good education.
Lin is an important public figure of this decade, yet it is awful that it has taken years for an Asian American to be a part of the NBA. In the documentary, Lin demonstrated that even as an underdog he never gave up, and he had many reasons why he should have. Lin is also perceived as a someone with many financial difficulties, but in reality he had all the resources to be successful: parent’s support, financial support, education support, and athletic support. The documentary is biased because it makes him appear as a one in a million who was able to make it pro. Linsanity is powerful in sharing and inspiring minorities, but because the movie is biased about social status, and no other minority has struggled in the league.
There South Asian background makes people view them as terrorists, geeky, and even computer geniuses. The views that the African Americans have of Sanjeet and Krush does not make it easy to for them to fit in. Sanjeet and Krush have to pick up different hobbies that might help them making friends and developing relationships with more people. In Desi Hoop Dream, Sanjeet and Krush pick up the game of basketball to try and fit in because they realize how big it is and the way people are able to connect through it in Georgia. Sanjeet and Krush have a hard time fitting in with basketball due to the feminine aspects of their basketball game. Feminine parts of Sanjeet and Krush’s game were not being tough and not being a threat on the court. They were looked upon as easy targets that did not know what was going on. As Sanjeet and Krush continue playing basketball they are soon able to gain respect and understand what is viewed as good and bad qualities. Edward Said said “No one today is purely one thing.” (Week One, Slide 14) Although Sanjeet and Krush are viewed upon as South Asian they try to then turn more diverse and pick up African American Cultures based upon where they live and what is necessary to fit in.
Walter LeFeber's book serves as a cornerstone of reference for its content as it relates to race, black business and the expansion of global capitalism since the late 20th century. With regard to race, it shows how race effected middle-class Michael Jordan at a young age and how he grew in the star he became, yet still could not es...
In the collegiate world of sports, basketball has become an increasingly recognized sport among African Americans, predominantly males. The hope of any young basketball player is that one day a scout will come and recruit them into stardom The question that presents itself as a problem to the lucky few who are chosen to go professional, is whether or not an education is more important than a million dollar shoe deal, “The NCAA's (1998) annual six-year study reported that only 33% of Black male basketball players graduated, (Chronicle of Higher Education, 1999). Individually, basketball reported the lowest graduation rate in all divisions,” (Robinson, 2004:1). Basketball players have become so idolized in the eyes of young Black male basketball athletes, that the value of education appear to be less important in the development of these young men, “According to Sailes (1997), there is an over-representation of Black males in particular sports and an under-representation in other segments of American society. He provides the example of percentages of Black males competing in the NBA (77%), NFL (65%), MLB (15%), and MLS (16%) in comparison to the fact that fewer than 2% of doctors, lawyers, architects, college professors, or business executives are Black males.”, (Robinson, 2004:1). The idea of the attainment of a professional basketball player’s salary in the NBA, without even having to go to school for the time it takes to earn a degree is very appealing to some players. Those with a wealthy, or even upper-middle class upbringing may not view material assets as a priority. In the Black community, we have theorized that money and success play a more important role than education in most households. Although these two seem to go together, one resulting from the other, this does not apply in the sports world. Our research will examine the role that the family value system plays in influencing Black vs. White male athletes to turn professional, as opposed to obtaining a college degree before turning professional.
Many obstacles get in the way of the road to dreams in both stories. In both stories, all families suffer from having little knowledge, and it doesn’t help that they’re all black. Also being poor and living in the ghetto makes things that much harder. Pregnancies also put big bumps in the road to success, in both instances it makes the families come together and try their hardest to make it through. However, there are also many different obstacles that come in the way for each family. In Hoop Dreams, both William and Arthur are given much support to fulfill their dreams of getting to the NBA, but Walter in A Raisin in the Sun is only given grief on getting his liquor store. This can point the young immature teens to giving them more hope that a very rare dream will come true. Also, the two ballplayers do have talent to help them start down the road to success, but that can be very misleading, all Walter has is the nagging of his buddies Bobo and Willy. The toughest of the obstacles to overcome was when William injured his knee and it affected his basketball career for a long time. He never really did get over it, he...
Everyone wants to get better at something, but some want it more than others. In “How to Transform an Everyday, Ordinary Hoop Court into a Place of Higher Learning and You at the Podium”, the narrator wants to get better at basketball, so he wakes up everyday at 4:30 to go with his dad to his work. Everyday, the narrator would wait 3 hours in his dad’s car until the gym opened, only to sit on the bench and watch the other men play basketball. Finally, one of the best players, Dante, tells the narrator he can play but he’ll get “smoked”. However, the narrator proved him wrong. The narrator learns that if you persevere, work hard, and have confidence, your dreams may come true. In How to Transform an Everyday, Ordinary Hoop Court into a Place
The movie I chose for this assignment was called The Pistol: The Birth of a Legend. This movie was about a young boy by the name of Pete Maravich who had a dream to become a great basketball player like his father Press Maravich. However, during this process he was faced with adversity of being too short and too flashy but he overcame the adversity he faced and became a hall of fame basketball player. Pete was dedicated to the game and no matter the weather outside he was out working on his skills even in a thunderstorm. During this moment when Pete is out working on his game in the thunderstorm his father pulls up in his car and gets out to play one-on-one with him. Despite it being a thunderstorm outside and his son is out in the thunderstorm
The history of sports goes back since ancient times. It has been a useful way for people to explore nature and their environment. Sports include different activities and games such as football, soccer, basketball, and etc. to express their skills and talents. Also, sports are a way to relax and have fun; but are sports all our African Americans rely on? The dream to become future sports stars. The reason why Gates begins his essay with an anecdote is to show and compare how many african-american athletes were at work today and how little the chances of African-Americans becoming athletes are compared to being a lawyer, dentist, or even a doctor. African-Americans assume that they are born athletes and it’s because the school system doesn’t teach them reality and educate them to undertake more realistic goals for careers.
Wiggins, David Kenneth, and Patrick B. Miller. 2003. The unlevel playing field: a documentary history of the African American experience in sport. Urbana: University of Illinois Press
Many movies out there are based on a lot of things such as true stories. Some are about the paranormal, history, or even sports. Sports bring people together the most because they are almost always about overcoming a greater force. The film that I am writing about is one that is very good and touches the heart of many. When the Game Stands Tall was directed by a Thomas Carter. The film is about a high school football team with the best winning streak in the history of sports, a 151 consecutive games and the team members had to face the challenges of defeat and death. The thing that hurt them the most was overcoming the mental challenges.
After the continuous winning streak that Cordia had, many team players suffered discrimination. For example, in an episode teaser #15, racism was pointed out by many school officials due to the unfair game against Knott’s county. I believe that racial profiling is the pinnacle of this film. It examines the ideology that each community reflects on based off of the pigmentation of skin color. Throughout the film racial profiling is continued which affects the motivation and determination of the team. It creates a negative impact in their mind through the sport of basketball, which contradicts the purpose of being in basketball. The author emphasizes the importance of basketball, by using it as a stage for the players to excel their talents and have an escape from
The "Basketball Diaries" is based on Jim Carroll a star basketball player from the city of New York. Jim plays for a pratically unbeatable team and is considered one of the best on it. His dream is to one day make it to the big leagues and be the best basketball player ever to play the game. Until his life takes a turn for the worst. Jim's life starts to spiral out of control when his best friend gets Lukemia and dies. Then his coach, who he looked too as a father, abused his team. Jim begins to cope with this downward spiral and sadness by hitting the cold streets. He doesn't realize what he gets himself into when he falls head over heels in love for heroine. He instantly falls in love with the drug since it took all his problems away, since
The first thing that a basketball represents, for me, is change. Growing up I was a rebel. I never did anything I was supposed or asked to do. I made it a point to rebel against my parents, teachers, and siblings. My parents had no idea where this behavior had come from or how it could be stopped. I was often punished for this behavior that started when I was around the age of 9. My parents thought I had an evil spirit inside of me and soon lost all anticipation. Then there was hope. A basketball coach from A.B.Miller high school saw me and my family at Wal-Mart, and asked for me to be placed on this team. He knew...