Hoop Dreams (1994)

Sheila Agee: Self - Arthur's Mother

Quotes 

• Self - Arthur's Mother : I was never raised on welfare. My mother and father both worked. We was cut off for three months. We was cut off completely with no income. So, therefore, do you know what happened? Our lights were cut off. Our gas were cut off. And we was sittin' in the dark. They had cut me off because I failed to meet an appointment. It hurt everybody in here. It changed everybody attitude, that you can have something today and it's gonna be gone tomorrow. So, you know what the system is sayin' to me? Do you know what it's sayin' to a lot of womens in my predicament? They don't care.

• Self - Arthur's Mother : You know, I say, "Man, you may not make it to the NBA." And he said, "Don't be keep on tellin' me things like that. That's just like showin' me you don't have - you don't have any trust in what I do." I said, "I do. But, don't just keep, you know, puttin' all - everything into this." He said, "Well, ain't nobody gonna take my dream away from me. That's what I wanna be and that's what I'm gonna do."

• Self - Arthur's Mother : He *dreams* about it. He look at those basketball commercials where they be advertising these Nike shoes and he'll tell - he'll tell his little smaller brother, "Joe, Joe, that's me."

• Self - Arthur's Mother : It's your dream. What can we do?

• Self - Arthur's Mother : You gave me that belief in myself. You really inspired me to go on. Not just stop right here, but, go further. And people told me I wasn't going to be anything.

• Self - Arthur's Mother : He's a great kid. And some kids don't live to this age, you know. That's another thing to be proud about. That, you know, it's his eighteenth birthday, he lived and to get to see eighteen, that's good.

• Self - Arthur's Mother : We bein' the underdog, I'm glad we are; because, then, it just show you how you can come up - and then you can beat your opponent.

• Self - Arthur's Mother : [walking around a college campus]  It's like a whole different world.

  Self - Arthur's Brother : It's beyond different.

• Self - Arthur's Mother : [toast]  To my son, I hope you pursue all your dreams and your desires that you have within you. Love you, very much.