In the
documentary, Hoop Dreams, we watch the struggles of two African American boys
in the inner city of Chicago. William
Gates and Arthur Agee are striving to play basketball at a college level, but
run into a number of issues ranging from inequalities in the high school
education system to the gap between classes and their respective socioeconomic
status.
This documentary raises
a number of issues that include race, class, and values in our society. In the documentary, we find out that Gates
and Agee have been recruited by St. Joseph High School to play on their high
school basketball program. St. Joseph is
a predominantly white high school with a respected basketball program. For Gates and Agee, the social environment at
St. Joseph High School was foreign to them.
These inner city neighborhoods in Chicago that Gates and Agee were
raised in are completely different from the suburban environment that the St.
Joseph High School students are accustomed to.
On a daily basis, Gates and Agee had to travel close to an hour and a
half to get to their high school. It is
not hard to imagine how Gates and Agee could feel like social outcasts at a
high school that is so much different than the inner city lifestyle that they
are used to.
White Men Can’t
Jump is another film that covers basically the same issues as Hoop Dreams, some
of which are regarding race, class, and economic status in American
Culture. I think that these movies are
trying to point out that there are some fundamental issues concerning race,
class, and economic status that need to be dealt with.
