Hoop Dreams

   "Hoop Dreams" is a documentary following two young talented basketball stars. The athletes were Arthur Agee and William Gates.  The documentary showed great opportunities, heart breaks, and the true struggle of growing up in Chicago. Both boys were given huge opportunities and promising futures. Unfortunately, the two were faced with major struggles in life. They struggled in school because they could only focus on what they loved, basketball. William also became a father at a very young age. The two athletes lived in hard conditions in small houses surrounded by drugs and violence. Fortunately, they were able to stay clear of them for the most part. This was because they were smart enough to know not to risk losing their goals in the future. Without basketball, one may believe that the two would not have finished high school and at least begin college. 

 One theme that was recognized from early on in the documentary is hope. Hope is shown through the major struggles of the boys' lives. Neither of them wanted to go to school and were struggling academically. Thankfully, there was always a little bit of hope that pushed them to continue perusing their education and play in a collegiate level. Also, hope is shown when one of the boys can no longer afford to go to his private high school. His mother lost her job and the family was not receiving the income that they needed. They had to send Arthur to the public school. They knew he was not getting as good of an education there, but hope showed the family that their son still had a the chance of playing basketball for a career if he applied himself enough. Without hope, the boys would not have done as much in life as they did.