In 1963 a British production company created a television special
entitled, “Seven Up!” Starting from the Jesuit saying, “Give me a child until 7
and I’ll give you the man,” the filmmakers gathered children from a wide
socioeconomic swath in order to get a view of Britain’s future.
Luckily for all of us, one of the members of the original production
team, Michael Apted, had the inspiration to return to these same people every
seven years. What an incredible way to test the veracity of the Jesuits’
aphorism!
The latest film in the series, “56 Up,” was released last year. I
have seen all of the films in the series; they fascinate me because it seems to
me the adage is largely proven true. The child is still there in the adult; the
essence of the person doesn’t change.
“56 Up” is beautifully edited. Each of the thirteen participants is
taken in turn, and footage from the earlier films is edited in with the latest
interview to give an overview of each person’s life. If you haven’t seen any of
the other films, don’t worry; this film is so well done it can stand alone.
After viewing “56 Up” my main feeling is gratitude towards the
people who were willing to participate over all these years. Some talked of the
difficulties they had encountered as a result of being in the films, and it was
clearly a sacrifice—your mistakes, your weaknesses, your marital troubles, your
job loss, all chronicled for the whole world to see. This might not seem so
noteworthy in the era of Facebook and Youtube, but in the years before the turn
of the century this was very public
living.
