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As it’s the year of the Dragon, Purple Revolver will continue to study the 18 year economic cycles and their impact on culture.
This month, we’ll be taking a look at the year 1994 and it’s films, fashion and music that are having an impact on today.
Hoop Dreams is a film that exemplifies the urban culture of the early 90’s and it’s release in 1994 solidified it as one of the most far reaching American films of it’s time.
Today, we see the urban culture portrayed in Hoop Dreams re-appearing, especially in the areas of Stokes Croft and St Pauls in Bristol.
The fashion, social difficulties and commentary on inner-city happenings is as relevant as ever.
Directed by Steve James, ‘Hoop Dreams’ is a documentary which follows the lives of two young African American boys and their quest for NBA stardom.
William Gates and Arthur Agee both dream of playing basketball professionally and the film witnesses the highs and lows of their difficult journeys.
Starting off at the beginning of their high school years and continuing through for another five years, we see these boys turn into young men.
Both are recruited into the same prestigious high school that their successful predecessor and Detroit Pistons superstar Isiah Thomas once attended.
Only one of the boys survives his first year and the other is forced to return to a high school closer to his home. Money, grades and circumstance all come into play and at times, it’s an emotional movie.
Set in inner-city Chicago, Hoop Dreams captures the essence of early Nineties city life. As we follow these boys, you can’t help but feel extremely connected to their lives which make for a suspenseful watch.
Tying family, society and education together, this is one of very few films that manages to portray the truth about the youth of 1994.
When it was released in 1994, it was a big success with audiences young and old. Being one of the first of it’s kind it was earmarked to win awards.
But the Oscars failed to nominate it for any prestigious gongs – only opting for Best Film Editing.
Entertainment Weekly then ran an article stating that the voters for the Best Documentary award were not documentary filmmakers and therefore, campaigned for more to be added to the board.
Consequently, the rules were changed so that documentary filmmakers actually voted in this category. However, many still believe it never received the recognition it deserved.
Sadly, since Hoop Dreams first appeared in theatres, both William and Arthur have suffered terrible tragedies. Arthur’s father was shot dead in an alley way and William Gates’ brother was killed during a car-jacking.
At the 10th anniversary screening, Arthur Agee told the audience that ten of his friends from the film were no longer alive.
What Hoop Dreams manages to create is an un-biased, refreshing take on the lives of youth in inner-city Chicago during the early 1990’s.
It incorporates all of your emotions during its three hour run time (which was narrowed down from an incredible 250 hours of footage) and sadly, none of the families received any royalties for their partaking; this was in order for both the boys to stay eligible for the NBA.
A film of hope, loss and reality – without the Hollywood gloss – Hoop Dreams is truly one of a kind and a must watch movie.