I HAVE A DREAM
BY: LESTER GREENE
In the famous words of Martin Luther King Jr., I Have a Dream… I had hoop dreams as a kid and even though I never made it to the pros, I never stopped dreaming. I went from the basketball court to the big screen and now to the newsroom — and I’ve never been happier. Actor Maurice Bernard (General Hospital) said it best, “The only time I would be happy was when I was dreaming.” Your dreams can set you free and you can be anything you want to be.
“Sometimes I dream. That he is me. You’ve got to see that’s how I dream to be. I dream I move, I dream I groove. Like Mike if I could be like Mike.”
Those words are synonymous with Michael Jordan and his Gatorade commercial released in the early 1990’s. I just remember growing up watching that commercial and feeling like I could do anything. Michael “Air” Jordan made you feel like you could walk on air. He made people believe that he could fly but before he could fly, he had to jump.
Michael Jordan wasn’t great in high school, in fact, he was bullied. He couldn’t get a date; he had no luck with the girls; he couldn’t make the varsity team. The character Gerald in the movie, Gerald’s Hands (directed by Nadira Pankey and starring Andrew R. McCallister) has a similar fate to that of Michael Jordan. Gerald is picked on and made fun of. He has to endure a lot of abuse before he can find his wings. Michael Jordan didn’t fully take off until he hit that game-winning shot against Georgetown in 1982. It was at that moment that Mike Jordan became Michael Jordan. He had developed his wings. Sometimes in life we want to walk before we crawl; we want to fly before we jump. Sometimes, we just need to trust the process. Gerald finds himself on this journey. He encounters many bumps and bruises along the way. Hopefully, with God’s grace, he will find his way and fly high in the sky.
Gerald’s Hands is in God’s hands because it’s a story about a man who is walking in his purpose. It’s a film that is going to make you feel something. There are no fireworks in this movie. No explosions. No superheroes, although you find yourself rooting for Gerald. This is a movie about an underdog. This is a movie for the underdog. This is the sleeper of the 2023 Oscars. Oscar and Gerald are a match made in heaven. We are going to do everything to qualify for the Oscars. Not because we want to prove the world wrong, but because we are dreamers. Nadira Pankey believes in Gerald. Andrew R. McCallister believes in Gerald. Party people get out your seats. Your dreams have now been fulfilled and the Oscar goes to…Gerald’s Hands. #IAMGERALD
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