Seven Up!

Seven Up! is a documentary film series that follows the lives of fourteen British people of different races, genders, and socio-economic backgrounds. Every seven years, the documentarians attempt to reconnect with the subjects and catch up on their lives in the intervening time. The series was originally commissioned by Granada Television as a programme for the World in Action series screened on the ITV network, broadcast in 1964. The 1998 programme was commissioned by BBC One, although still produced for them by Granada. It was directed at first by Paul Almond and subsequently, taken over by Michael Apted who had been a researcher on the first series and helped choose the children. The original premise was taken from the Jesuit motto "give me the child at the age of seven and I will give you the man", based on a quote by Francis Xavier.

Related Topics:
Documentary film - British - Granada Television - World in Action - ITV - 1964 - 1998 - BBC One - Paul Almond - Michael Apted - Jesuit - Francis Xavier

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The fourteen subjects are only identified by their first name in the programme. They are Bruce Balden, Jackie Bassett, Simon Basterfield, Andrew Brackfield, John Brisby, Peter Davies, Susan Davis, Charles Furneaux, Nicholas Hitchon, Neil Hughes, Lynn Johnson, Paul Kligerman, Suzanne Lusk, and Tony Walker.

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Apted's thesis that class is so strong in the UK that a person's life path is set at birth has held up in some cases, but not in others, as the series has progressed. The original group includes three upper class boys (John, Charles and Andrew) who know at age 7 which prep schools they would attend. Upper class Suzy at age 7 expects to become a homemaker and, after a rough adolescence that is only alluded to, finds a family life full of many varied things. The three working class girls Jackie, Lynn and Sue who expect a life as housewives age 7 end up securing differing careers and family lives from what they expected. Tony the Cockney 'Cheeky Kid' first hopes to become a jockey, then a racing tout and, finally secures a comfortable life as a taxi driver. His later dream of becoming an actor meets with slight success as he gained cameos on ' and EastEnders. He has been one of the most enthusiastic supporters of the project and he and his wife, Deb, have been very honest about both the hardship and success in their lives.

Related Topics:
Cockney - EastEnders

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Two of the participants have emigrated from England. Paul has lived in Australia since his father moved them there before he turned 14. He and his wife Susan and their children revisited England as part of the filming of their segment for "35 Up". Nick, a Yorkshire lad, became a physicist and eventually settled at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. Michael Apted freely admits in his commentary on the DVD for "42 Up" that he erred in the filming of "28 Up" in thinking that Nick's marriage to Jackie would not last and that he unfairly anticipated this in his questions to them at the time. The consequence was that he lost later interviews with her and their son, Adam.

Related Topics:
England - Australia - Yorkshire - Physicist - University of Wisconsin - Madison

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The only black participant is Simon who was chosen from the same charity home as Paul and they revisit the abandoned buildings of their school in "21 Up". Simon did not appear in "35 Up" but returned for the next film.

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Three other participants have dropped out over the years. John left after "21 Up" feeling that the questions he was being asked were mocking his upper class life, although he did return for "35 Up" to publicize his Oxfam relief efforts for Central Europe, and returned again for "49 Up". Peter who was a classmate of Neil's in Liverpool as a youth dropped out after "28 Up" after stinging press criticism of his interview. Perhaps most interesting is the refusal of Charles to continue his participation after "21 Up". He has worked in journalism in varying capacities over the years, including the making of documentary films. Michael Apted always offers and hopes that they may again chose to take part in the series.

Related Topics:
Oxfam - Liverpool

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It should be noted that in the original program the narrator mentions 21 children taking part and that that many can be counted at both the zoo and the party that they take part in. The only one named other than the fourteen acknowledged participants is a girl named Michelle who is from the same East End school as Tony and is interviewed as his girlfriend. The other six may have been interviews that were not used or brothers or sisters of the main group.

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Over the course of the project the program has had a direct effect, in varying degrees on the lives of the participants. By the time of "28 Up" one of the bright grammar school boys Neil was experiencing ongoing struggles with his life and was homeless. Another one of the series subjects Bruce (who had been seen to use his education to help children in both England and Bangladesh), after the groups reunion during "35 Up", was affected by Neil's plight and offered him a home that, by the time of "42 Up", had given Neil the supportive base to get work and a home of his own.

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In his commentary for the DVD of "42 Up" Apted praises the courage of the participants to come back and bare the raw facts of their lives every seven years. The series has received extraordinary praise over the years, the epitome of which may be Roger Ebert's comment that it is "an inspired, almost noble use, of the film medium".

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