Anthropological-like study shows how the cycle of life is a learning curve.
Like an unwanted visit to the dentist’s office, the subjects of the Michael Apted’s 7up series can sum up this wash, rinse, repeat every seven-year experience as an emotionally discomforting one, of course they could all decide to say categorically not participate in the project, but the lure of being a part of a phenomenon is bigger than the individual inconvenience it may cause. First Run Features who has teamed up with the producers early on in the series, releases 49 Up stateside and anyone who recognizes the sage words of “give me the child until he is 7, and I will show you the man” will undoubtedly be curious to know where these characters have ventured.
We first meet them as children who, in turn, had children of their own who have also procreated. The faces of cute 7 year-olds now become grandma’s and grandpa’s in shades of grey, receding hairlines and with extra pounds. East End, London has changed and so have the dozen-ish subjects but compared with every character on reality TV show, these Brits are indeed a boring group of adults. The 6th re-visit contains more of the same, not much changes for a good 30 years, unless you call getting a dog a major life decision. Potential hard-knocking questions are usually put aside for Q’s on career, home reno, couple-hood and kid status. Perhaps a major shake up to the formula would make many participants into non-participants but at least the root-canal experience would bring about a heavier emotional output and chewier moments when the subjects questioned the validity of the project would perhaps understand the uniqueness of this social experiment.
The candidness of the formula makes the over two hour doc easily digestible, the editing rapidly divulges the personality and although most of the dozen folks seem content with living out the rest of their lives without any major upheavals, the brief mentions of the Blair government shows the uncertainty of the future is still a part of the human condition. There are perhaps less personal admissions being made, most subjects by now want to play safe during the interview but it will be an interesting process to see how this torch gets passed onto the next generations especially when issues of mortality and old age start to factor in. Will folks who reach a ripe old age accommodate us with ramblings of a senile or is there something more vast and complicated in store? Only time will tell.
Spawning many copy cats, the value of the 7 UP series as a whole is invaluable, but newcomers to the series might want to revisit at least the first edition and perhaps one of the middle films to appreciate 49 UP. Here’s hoping that Apted’s creation has the chance to become more than an intrusion on someone’s life. One thing is for sure, each subject interviewed brings a specialness to the process and for most of us who could care less about what VH1 specials tell us about humans, this is fascinating family reunion and the best scrap book ever assembled.
