The UP Series

This series consists of 6 parts in this box-set collection (7 Up, 14 Up, 21 Up, 28 Up, 35 Up, and 42 Up). The documentary film follows the lives of 14 children beginning at the age of 7 and then gives an update on each of their lives every 7 years. The premise of the film seems to have three parts. One part revolves around the idea that the person you are at 7 years of age represents the person you will be in life. The second part is to watch the development of those who will be the future of Britain by the year 2000 and get an insight into those people. The films third investigation is that of the "class" system of England. They want to see how much your social class affects your progress in life.

The series is very interesting, my favorite of the films is 7 Up because the children are so adorable and incredibly smart for their age. All of the children participate in the first three films (7 Up, 14 Up, and 21 Up). From 28 Up and on you have some who leave and some who return. The majority of the participants remain in every film. By 28 when people were either married or planned to be married shortly I didn't know what else to expect from the series, but every stage of the series interested me. Some people always remained favorites from the beginning while others became less interesting to me as the series went on and others became more interesting as the series went on.

By the time 42 Up ends they give you the impression that it is to be the last film, but apparently 49 Up is out in England and soon to be out here in the States. I am not sure what made them decide to do the next installment since goal of reaching the year 2000 was met. Perhaps something interesting has happened or perhaps the filmmakers want to investigate the opinions of the adults now in a post 9-11 world and compare and contrast that with the world they grew up in. I will find out because I will be watching.

(Sorry for the long review New Wave but I haven't posted in quite some time and it is 6 films here).