Custom «The Documentary “Hoop Dreams”» Essay Paper

Personal Reactions on the Documentary “Hoop Dreams”

The primary emotions of the reader, listener or spectator are the best indicator of the pure and not satiated judgment. It does not matter what the person evaluates, they should have the “disinterested satisfaction” (Kant, 1914) upon the object, which is under the viewing. Therefore, it is essential to give the personal reactions on the documentary Hoop Dreams (James et al., 1994).

Firstly, the sufficient affirmative points of Hoop Dream are dramatic effect and saturated plot. As for the first mentioned description, the film contains many frames where the intensive course of events overstrains the audience. For example, the scenes of the basketball game where one of the protagonists Williams Gates hurts his knee. The onlooker of the action cannot be apathetic towards the player. Thus, there are many scenes, which are similar to this one. They create the whole succession of the tense events, which make the spectator empathize the protagonists of the picture. These characteristics contribute greatly in favor of the film.

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Moreover, the unaffected actors’ performance impresses by its frankness and purity. Every character in Hoop Dreams performs as if there is no camera’s objective and nobody looks at them so intimately. In spite of the public prohibition of the drugs’ sale, the director of the picture keeps the shot where Agee’s father sells the opiates in the street. Besides that, the movie team shoots the darkness of Arthur’s flat where there is no electricity because of the nonpayment for the utilities. These true and bare moments astonishes the onlooker who feels included into the film’s reality.

Consequently, Hoop Dreams reproduces the serious and professional approach towards the documentary genre of the film. Truthfulness of the words and the necessary dramatic effect did their work brilliantly. Nobody can even doubts of the uprightness of the represented reality.

Main Problems that Affected Arthur Agee

In the previous part of the paper, there were described the personal reactions of the author. The mentioned characteristics pertain to the creative features of the film. Besides, there are many problems, which are nonetheless important within the social life. Therefore, it is essential to indicate them, as the subsequent parts of this work will discuss these matters. In this article, the poverty and educational background define the main problems for the character.

At first, there is the matter that involves both the protagonist of the film and generally the numeral quantity of Afro-Americans round the United States and Chicago in particular. The poverty that affects Arthur Agee is partly the indicator of the attitude towards the dark-skinned habitants among the white people. The evidence of such situation is the suburban ghettoes where the representatives of the poor Afro-Americans have to live. Thus, Arthur Agee’s struggle with the indigence is burdensome because of his living conditions.

Besides it, another matter influences the capable youth. It is the lack of knowledge, which Arthur faces. Because of his smattering of mathematics and grammar, he must visit the grammar school in order to get the necessary score to receive the scholarship for the further study. The educational level of the Afro-Americans is still poor. Consequently, the educational problem affects Arthur Agee nonetheless than the poverty does.

Overall, the abovementioned matters influences the basketball player in such a way that he must adjust himself to those conditions he lives. Arthur faces the main problems, which other dark-skinned people encounter on their path of life in the United States. Thus, his wish to get the scholarship just pushes him forward and gives him the strength to struggle with the circumstances, which surround him.

Examination of the Solution to Alleviate the Main Problems

“For every problem there is a solution which is simple, clean and wrong.” (Mencken n.d.). This statement indicates the way out from any difficulty the person might face. The previous article has leaded the reader to the main obstacles that appeared in Arthur Agee’s life on his path to the dream. As the person who cannot refuse to overcome the obstacle in order to succeed finally, the protagonist determines his own way to achieve the desirable summit.

First matter among the foregoing ones was the poverty. To get it over Agee’s family goes through the welfare benefit when Arthur’s father finds himself into the jail. Then his mother succeeds to receive the highest score on her path to the assistant of the nurse. Moreover, the final solution is foreseeing as the player’s work employment in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Unfortunately, Arthur just enrolls in the junior college. Therefore, the film contains solutions, such as the welfare and unattainable recruiting into the NBA.

In addition to the indigence, the protagonist comes across the deficient level of knowledge in mathematics and grammar. Taking into consideration that the lack of it requires the proper tuition, the represented solution for it is the scholarship. Nevertheless, obtaining the last one requires the successful passing the exam. In order to enter the college for the sequence study Arthur requests the desirable scholarship. As a result, the problem of getting the proper knowledge entails the receiving of the scholarship.

Thus, two problems accompany the appropriate solutions, the specific of which the film Hoop Dreams represents. The poverty and lack of knowledge are two obstacles on the path to the desired pinnacle of glory. Their presence pushes Arthur forward in order to succeed and get the place among the best players of NBA, nevertheless the result does not correspond the hoop dream.

Critical Analysis of Benefits and Limitations of the Solutions

The existence of the main problems and the solutions for them is conventional with the real life of the character of the picture. Nevertheless, the spectator cannot interfere with the reality introduced in the film but it is still possible to analyze the advantages and disadvantages of the decisions for the present problems there.

The social security alleviated the entanglement of the Agee’s family a little bit for the definite period. This welfare benefit only equilibrated the absence of Arthur’s father for the period of his stay in the jail. However, it did not provide the real financial support for three members of the family there. The tripping of the electricity in the flat illustrates the deficiency of that benefit at all. Another argument for it is the compelled change of the high school because of the inability to pay for the tuition in the former institution. Thus, there are more limitations of the welfare than the benefits of it.

To counterbalance it, the scholarship possessed more preferences than the confinements for such a problem as the lack of knowledge. Taking into consideration that Arthur failed to pass the exam to receive the needed score, it was the essential limitation of getting the scholarship. However, this government assistance favored him to enter the junior college for all that. Nevertheless, the white pupils are educated in the better conditions and with the tuition that is more competent, the scholarships are available regardless of the race implement.

Overall, both the benefits and limitations characterize the proposed solutions. For the welfare, there should be the confirmed conditions of the impossibility of the family’s existence without it. At the same time, the appropriate level of applicator’s knowledge must prove the possibility of allocation of the scholarship. Such totality of the circumstances defines the reality.

Discussion Round the Solving of the Mentioned Social Problems

According to the abovementioned, the main social problems actual for Arthur Agee are poverty and unemployment. These aspects are still important within the whole society all over the world. For the segregated black people who dweller in the suburbs of the cities in the predominantly white United States these matters require the special attention.

As for the poverty, the settlement of it was absent at all in the family of the player. There were many factors, which influenced this situation. First, the parents are still not so qualified to get the proper work in order to maintain their children with all of the basic needful wants. Arthur’s parents provided him neither tutorial payments, nor the appropriate accommodation. Secondly, the NBA, which could provide him with the necessary maintenance, did not recruit him. Therefore, Agee’s poverty remained the unsettled problem in his life.

Unemployment is another matter that bothered both Arthur and his parents. Sheila Agee, his mother, still required the insufficient position as the assistant of the nurse, which could not supply the family with the proper amount of money to survive in the urban conditions. Bo Agee, his father, because of his engagement into the drugs’ sale and connected imprisonment for it, also could not count on the receipt of employment offer. Consequently, there was no essential background for Arthur’s parents to get the job in order to provide the children with the basic circumstances.

As a result, the social matters of Agee’s family remained unsettled. The social status and racial implement of the black caused the poverty and unemployment. The segregation of the poor in the separate districts from the wealth confirms it as the visual illustration. 

The Possible Decisions for the Poverty and Unemployment

The previous article contained the affirmation that such social problems as the poverty and unemployment had no solving within the protagonist’s path of life in the film. However, the decision must exist for every matter. The definite situation of Agee’s family also can contain the reflections on this issue.

The poverty could be determined if both Arthur’s father and his mother were employed in the proper and stable branch of industry or somewhere else. They could have supplied their son with the necessary tuition fee so that Arthur could have the appropriate knowledge to succeed in the exam. Then he could receive the awarded scholarship and study where he wanted. As a result, his parents could earn their money for the rest three members of their family.

At the same time, the unemployment as another matter rose. If Bo Agee did not get into the cocaine addiction and drug’s sale, somebody could hire him owing to his incorrupt reputation. In addition, if Sheila Agee had more profound knowledge in medicine she could have received the position of the nurse or even higher than the post of the assistant. To sum up, the sound reputation of Arthur’s father and the appropriate grounding of his mother could have provide them with the necessary workplace and accordingly to it the living prop.

Therefore, the proposed decisions for such difficulties as the poverty and unemployment could exist. Nevertheless, the segregation separated the black from the others inhabitants of the city according to their social status, the worthy actions and knowledge background could alleviate the situation of Arthur Agee’s family. Finally, the documentary Hoop Dreams illustrates the way people can influence the course of events in their lives.