Seed Newsvine"Hoop Dreams" - A Mother's Victory
Aside from being voted the best film of the 1990s (that's right, it even beat "Goodfellas" and "JFK") by the great Roger Ebert, Steve James' "Hoop Dreams" is essential viewing for anyone who is serious about filmmaking. If there's one word that comes to mind with this film it's this: dedication. Dedication on the part of the two young individuals we meet--Arthur Agee and William Gates--and their marriage to their NBA dreams, dedication on the part of their families who suffer equally if not more at times & the dedication of Mr. James and his filmmaking team who followed both subjects for more than 5 years with an unblinking eye.
The scene: After witnessing several unexpected developments--including William Gates becoming a father during his Junior year of high school--throughout most of "Hoop Dreams," we are met with this touching surprise: Arthur Agee's mother Sheila, has completed a nurse's assistant class from a local community center. On paper, this doesn't scream "staggering achievement" to the naked eye, but viewers of "Dreams" can appreciate and relish at such a scene. Especially after having seen some of Sheila Agee's struggles, including being abandoned by her drug-addled husband, having to go on welfare for months--and even having her electricity cut off in her apartment, thus leaving her and her kids literally in the dark. Structurally, the scene fits in between a crucial game for William Gates and an upcoming, defining game for Arthur. Only clocking in at a handful of minutes, we see Sheila Agee becoming informed of her high test scores, her emotional reaction and then a modest nurse's assistant graduation at the Bethel Employment Services Center. After the short ceremony concludes, the documentary pummels ahead to Arthur's important basketball game.
Why we love it: Because this scene doesn't come near the end of "Hoop Dreams," we don't see Sheila's graduation as a conclusive victory but rather as a tragic foil to the bigger picture of the culture's obsession with the mostly elusive basketball dream. Notice the closing shot of Sheila's graduation: the camera is almost outside of the room, showing rows upon empty rows of vacant seats. Sheila Agee's certification will guarantee the ailing Agee family some sort of supplemental income that wasn't there the day before. Also, her commitment to completing her nursing class will send a direct message to Arthur and his siblings about staying in school and the importance of receiving their high school diploma. These are all valid and vital effects of such a moment in all of their lives. But where are the fans? Where is the support? It's such a subtle stroke of visual commentary that most viewers miss out on it during initial viewings. All through "Hoop Dreams" is this unspoken undercurrent of a changing America, where dreams are replaced with name brand shoes and sports jackets. In another scene, Arthur even admits that local drug dealers give the neighborhood basketball players money strictly for buying new sports apparel, so they can wear it and show off. In the dire city slums, it seems that most tangible goals morph into fruitless channels of exploitation. What's worse is the crooked value system. When the environment around you is deteriorating on both a social and economic level, doesn't the image and lifestyle of the poster celebrity figure seem more valuable than say, your mother's affirmation of personal goals? The scary answer: yes. Which is why in a sprawling documentary that shows all the red tape of chasing the American NBA dream, a scene like Sheila's graduation (and believe me there are scenes similar to this wisely sprayed over the running time) is a tender, treasure of a moment. And the fact that perhaps some of the people living in that moment may not realize it, makes it all the more heartbreaking. And human.
Watch Sheila graduate and then the contrasting game atmosphere that follows HERE.
