Gabe CarterEnglish 106Joohyun ParkRhetorical Analysis Paper

Witty Title

Introducing Hoop Dreams:

Hoop Dreams is a documentary directed by Steve James. The film follows the

lives of two young African-American boys from the Cabrini Green housing projects

of inner city Chicago. The film was originally meant to be a 30-minute documentary

for television but it ended up being a 5 yearlong process having over 250 hours of

footage. It premiered at the 1994 Sundance Film Festival where it won the

Audience Award for Best Documentary. It ended its run in the box office with

$11,830,611 worldwide. Despite its length of 171 minutes, Hoop Dreams received

excellent reviews. This exceptionally long documentary follows Arthur Agee and

William Gates through their whole high school career. The film shows the hardships

they endured along the way. Even extending the time to their college life. James does

a very good job of strengthening his ethos in this film and using pathos to its full

potential. James created an original, non-bias moving documentary.

Using Pathos to Strengthen Ethos

These two young boys Arthur Agee and William Gates were recruited by Earl

Smith to play for St. Joseph High School. Sadly, Arthur’s family could not afford to

pay for St. Joseph, forcing him to play for Marshal Metro High School. William played

for St. Joseph his whole high school career, but some tragedies occurred. He injured

his knee junior year, halting his success as a senior and even in college. In this film

James uses an excessive amount of Pathos. From the very beginning your heart

breaks for these two families and the hardships they had to go through. I believe

James does this to strengthen the ethos of the film. James filming was interesting;

there were absolutely no special effects. One of the only special effects in the whole

movie were at the very beginning when the words “Hoop Dreams” appeared on the

bottom of the screen.

While most filmmakers include visual effects in their documentaries James didn’t

because he wanted his audience to see exactly what he saw. He wants his audience

to focus on the important things like Arthur Agee and William Gates, not the fancy

special effects or screen transitions. The only other special effects in the movie were

the small white texts at the bottom of the screen to introduce a person or the title

they held. Hoop Dreams was an Academy Award nominee for best film editing. James

technique strengthened his ethos by not distracting his viewers with snazzy visual

effects, but instead showing the true raw story of William Gates and Arthur Agee in

the clearest way possible.

The Roller-coaster Ride of a Lifetime

James does a very good job of using his ethos to enhance is pathos and this

documentary is predominantly pathos. Pathos is what gets to people the most in any

film; it takes them on an emotional roller coaster ride, sucking them into the film for

good. James does a great job of this by giving the audience the most personal view

and inside scoop of the Agee and Gates families. The film starts out on a happy note

with nothing but high hopes for the two young boys. Sadly, as the film goes on, both

families suffer terribly, hindering them from reaching their goals. For example, at

about 30 minutes into the film James interviews Williams older brother Curtis and it

is revealed to you that Curtis was in the exact same spot that William was in in 1985.

But he did not get the opportunity to attend St. Joseph High School. As a fallen

legacy, his past was introduced to us via a slide show of black and white

photographs, newspaper clips, and films.

As all of this was happening sad jazz music is playing in the background. Curtis’s

interview was pretty emotional, and the exact same thing happens when Arthur

Agee’s father Bo leaves the family behind. James talks over very depressing music as

it plays in the background as photos of Bo are portrayed on the screen slowly.

Even though there are tragedies in the film, James does a good job of capturing

glimpses of happiness. Throughout the film he will get great shots of Arthur or

William smiling while they talk to their moms or their friends.

Light at the End of the Tunnel

One of the most heart wrenching parts of the film is when the secret is

revealed to you that William Gates has a daughter. He got Catherine Mines pregnant

and they had a beautiful daughter Alicia.

In Williams interview about this situation he talks about how scared he was, the

responsibility he had and the tight schedule he was on. This situation appeals to

anyone in the audience because it’s a problem far to many people in the United

States have to deal with. Seeing the young child on the screen warms the heart of the

audience, seeing her smile and laugh brings joy to those watching the film. Yet there

is a sense of concern because the parents are only in high school and William is

struggling in school, basketball and at home. James does a good job of having no

music playing and having a shaky camera when they are in the home, it makes the

audience feel like they are actually there with the slight shaking of the camera.

James camera movement is key to this documentary. Through out the film

James interviews many people and documents many things. Whenever he

interviews a credible source like Patricia Weir (Williams’ sponsor), or head

basketball coach Gene Pingatore the wobbling ceases, meaning he puts the camera

on a stand. Making it more of an informational moment in the film. He wants the

audience focusing on the interview and nothing else. Whenever he is filming

anything to do with William or Arthur the camera shakes. I believe he does this

because he wants the audience to feel like they are standing right there. The steady

shaking of the camera makes the film seem more lifelike.

Conclusion

At first, the film seems bland. There was a lack of Logos in this film, only the

blatantly obvious. James wasn’t trying to persuade his audience through logic. He

was trying to get the message out their about the Agee and Gates family. There was

little cause and effect portrayed in the film that was identified. James never tried to

connect the events that occurred, he only wished that you see them and make your

own opinion. He predominantly used Ethos and Pathos. James did not intentionally

make his film bland. He wanted the audience to immerse themselves in the raw

footage of the film. He wanted everyone to feel like they were standing in the actual

room with William when he was told he had to have surgery for the first time… and

the second. James didn’t want his film to seem like an amateur documentary

because of all the shaking. He wanted the people to feel like they were actually there

with the two families. James did a very good job of using Pathos in this film along

with Ethos, not only strengthening his own credibility but using the credibility of

others as well. By allowing the audience the closest view possible into the lives of

the two young boys, letting the true story unfold before their eyes without bias,

James created an original non-bias, moving documentary.