Something Borrowed - Part II

As you may have read from my previous post we like to frequent our local library from time to time. I’ve learned that not only does a library have books but they also have movies, documentaries and music! :-D

I’m deviating from raw foods here to just share with you an interesting documentary we watched on DVD; one we checked out from the library. It’s referred to as the Up series. Maybe a few of you have heard of it but I’m going to assume that most of you have not. Hubby was familiar with the series because he saw some of it in college. I hadn’t heard of it, which is pretty silly when I think about it because even The Simpsons did a parody. I don’t watch enough of The Simpsons however to have seen this episode.

It’s about 14 British kids who were seven years old in 1963 selected from diverse backgrounds (i.e. social, economic, race, etc.). They are asked various “life questions,” which at that age can be interesting and entertaining; then we see most of them again every seven years as they grow up.

From my understanding, this was originally supposed to be one episode and it’s intent was strictly political (it’s thought that their backgrounds predetermine their future) but it has morphed into something so much more – you get so drawn to these people, root some of them on, cry with them – it’s emotional.

We just finished the last one in the series, 49 Up. Now, they’re probably about 51 or 52 years old now. Some people have been watching these “kids” on TV every seven years, basically growing up with them. We watched it all from start to finish.

In an interview with Roger Ebert, the director wonders if the effect (affect?) is the same for those who watched it all at once vs. those who have followed each film over the years; because for us we got that instant gratification compared to those who had to wait seven years between shows. Well, I can only guess but I think the effect (affect? – I get those two words mixed up sometimes) is the same or just as meaningful. It’s fascinating to watch these children grow into adults, experience life, sharing their ups and downs, to see how the world’s changed and so on but it also makes you think back on your own life.

How have I changed?
How am I the same?

I’m purposely not disclosing many of my own thoughts of the series because I don’t want it taint or take away anything you might gain from watching the series if you chose to. I also hope I haven’t hyped this up too much.

It is long so we watched it over a course of several days. There’s a lot of recapping with each episode however I don’t suggest skipping any of the episodes. If you were to watch the first and last films only I think you’d miss out on a lot. We had to really concentrate at times because some of their accents were difficult to understand.

I highly recommend the series if you love documentaries, reality TV, psychology or just peeking into other people’s lives.