Hoop Dreams(1994)
dir. Steve James
Two Chicago teens, one dream, and the odds.
Where to watch: HBO Max; free with ads on Roku Channel, Pluto, YouTube, Xumo Play; rent $3.99 Amazon/Apple (JustWatch US)Letterboxd ↗
Steve James followed two Black teenagers from Chicago's housing projects, William Gates and Arthur Agee, for five years as they tried to turn basketball into a way out. They are recruited to a suburban Catholic school, injured, dropped and picked up again, and their families pay for it. The film runs three hours and doesn't hurry.
Why it’s here
The film takes apart the idea that sports is the way out by staying with the families when it doesn't work. What's punk is that the boys and their parents are the authors of the story. What's pedagogical is how clearly it shows tuition, scouting and recruiting as systems. Pairs with Most Likely to Succeed and The Shame of the Nation.
Where This Film Lives
- Setting
- United States • North America
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