Film Review: Courage

Review by Arriela Barrera

Many of us know the choices we have to make that will become crucial to our futures. Many of us know how difficult expectations become, how they fester, and grow heavy in our chests. Many of us learn that sometimes, all we need is a little courage.

I recently came across the short film Courage, based on the experiences of Eric Michael Hernandez. Hernandez is a world-renowned Native American hoop dancer and filmmaker of the Lumbee tribe. He received the Regional Emmy Award for Best Direction in Long-Form Content.

This film follows Eric during his freshman year of high school, during a time when he is questioning his future. The film starts with Eric feeling nervous, with a basketball in hand, and his mother reassures him while braiding his hair. His mother comforts Eric and tells him to have courage.

His father hopes to pass on his own basketball legacy to his sons. Eric’s older brothers carried it on, and now it was his turn. His father even gave him a new pair of Nikes as good luck for his tryouts when he picked him up for school that morning.

However, later that day, Eric finds out he did not make the basketball team. As he walks away from the billboard, one of his teachers hands him a flyer for Culture Night at school, encouraging him to participate and show others a part of himself he hasn’t shown yet. Eric takes the paper, crumples it into his pocket, thinking only of what his father will say.

At home, Eric angrily practices basketball in his backyard. Missing shot after shot, he hurls the ball into the fence. Watching from the window inside, his mother calls someone to help. By sundown, Uncle Terry arrives in a ribbon shirt, carrying five hoops.

Uncle Terry asks if he has any new tricks up his sleeve since the last time he has seen his nephew. Eric dances to his uncle’s drum beat, but misses a hoop. Before Eric can give up, Uncle Terry reassures him that he needs to dance with his heart instead. Uncle Terry then demonstrates the significance of each hoop in their dance. Using the hoops to tell a story and how it signifies the circle of life. The first two hoops form a small bird, which grows into a soaring eagle on its journey through life with the addition of more hoops. The fifth hoop is the Great Spirit, who holds everything together in a circle. Without it, the world falls apart, and the hoops sink.

The next time Eric dances, he does it with his heart, and by the end, the five hoops connect. At the end, Uncle Terry notices a crumpled paper in Eric’s pocket, where Eric explains Culture Night. But it’s the same time as the second tryout his father asked for, after Eric admitted to him earlier that he did not make the team. Eric now faces a decision that will shape the course of his life.

Uncle Terry offers one last piece of advice, saying Eric is chasing the wrong hoop.

That night comes, and Eric has chosen to wear his moccasins instead of his Nikes. There is a scene of Eric on stage, standing in silence in front of the audience. Flags from around the world are lined up on the walls on either side of him, as he is dressed in his regalia. Then, a steady drumbeat cracks through the speakers. Before he starts to dance, his father walks in through the back door, with an angry expression. But Eric persists and begins.

Eric dances with his heart, and with courage. Over the next couple of seconds, his father’s gaze shifts, the audience is smiling in awe, and his mother cries with pride. Eric demonstrated the courage that many Indigenous students, adults, and families face in public spaces. Eric broke the expectations placed upon him to make a path of his own.

Watching Eric dance alone on that stage made me think of times I chose to display my indigenous identity in front of others. I had spent many of my childhood years afraid of being seen, but like Eric, there were moments I had the chance to overcome my fears. Many of us experience these moments throughout our lives, and I believe it is important to tackle these obstacles together.

I recommend watching this with family, friends, or even by yourself. It’s a heartwarming short film that creates awareness about family expectations and a beautiful portrayal of putting your heart into your culture. This film and Eric’s story remind us to stop “chasing the wrong hoop,” and sometimes the bravest thing we can do is to put ourselves out there. To have courage.