Tad Cobb was in our home in early January 2016 and conversation subjects included movies and television series we had each enjoyed. One of Tad’s recommendations was the “Up” series that began in 1964 with 7 Up. I hadn’t heard of it.

Initially it was a single film featuring fourteen seven-year-old children selected to represent diverse socio-economic backgrounds in England. The film borrows a quotation from Jesuit Francis Xavier: “Give me a child until he is seven and I will give you the man.” Using this premise 7 Up aimed to give viewers a glimpse of England in the year 2000.

The first expansion of 7 Up (titled 7 Plus Seven) came when the same fourteen children were interviewed as fourteen years olds. Every seven years another chapter of the story has been added with 21 Up, 28 Up, 35 Up, 42 Up, 48 Up, and 56 Up.

Our source for seeing these films has been by DVD from Netflix. The first film catapulted us back to 1963 with the black and white filming, sound quality below today’s standards, and strange theme music. A sociopolitical agenda that might have existed in plans for the initial film quickly dissipated as the story trumped the science. While following these lives in seven-year snippets creates a fascinating story, it also provides a lot to think about. What is the relationship between class and opportunity? Is a child’s future predictable? Is there a correlation between economic success and happiness? Why are some people ambitious while others are not? These are some of the questions aroused by the series.