I spent much of the l
ast week immersed in Michael Apted's Up Series on DVD. This documentary film series is fascinating-- each film offers a close look at how one becomes an adult, how certain decisions form and create a life, and how one's idea of one's self effects one's eventual place in the world.
In 1964, a group of 7 year old English children were interviewed about their views on life, love, and the future. Apted has revisited t
he children every 7 years-- so there are films for 14, 21, 28, 35, and 42 years old that all come in one handy box for your viewing pleasure. I've heard there's at least one more film, for 49, out there too.
It seems like these films were the precursor to reality tv in a way, for better or worse. I think the project was started to see what effect class has on a British child's future, but it really offers much more than that. The class system in Britain is still in effect in certain ways, although you can see over the years of the films that it breaks down quite a bit. More importantly, the films capture real lives, real issues, real triumphs, real failures.
Watching the idealistic, blunt and hopeful children become independent, challenging, full adults is completely absorbing. Who wants to think about getting old? I mean, no one really, but it's pretty interesting to watch people age before your eyes and to see and hear about the changes that they are going through.
One child, Neil, just broke my heart. At 7 you can easily see the brightness and humor in his eyes. He says that when he's older he doesn't want any children because they are naughty and dirty the house. You can see plainly on his grinning face that he is guilty of this crime and has been scolded for it many a time. By 14, his eyes
have already grown deadened and his front teeth have been busted out at sharp angles, never to be repaired (at least not by 42-- very British!). The light never returns to his face either. He has been raised in a Liverpool suburb and by adolescence feels misunderstood by just about everyone. By 21 he's living in a squat in London and Neil continues to meander on, homeless and fairly destitute. It's striking to see his life begin in such a hopeful way and spiral off and downward, and it's interesting to try to think about why. By 42 he's finally starting to look for real employment and trying to make his way toward a career in something close to his heart. His journey is a rough one to watch, at least for me.
ast week immersed in Michael Apted's Up Series on DVD. This documentary film series is fascinating-- each film offers a close look at how one becomes an adult, how certain decisions form and create a life, and how one's idea of one's self effects one's eventual place in the world. In 1964, a group of 7 year old English children were interviewed about their views on life, love, and the future. Apted has revisited t
he children every 7 years-- so there are films for 14, 21, 28, 35, and 42 years old that all come in one handy box for your viewing pleasure. I've heard there's at least one more film, for 49, out there too.It seems like these films were the precursor to reality tv in a way, for better or worse. I think the project was started to see what effect class has on a British child's future, but it really offers much more than that. The class system in Britain is still in effect in certain ways, although you can see over the years of the films that it breaks down quite a bit. More importantly, the films capture real lives, real issues, real triumphs, real failures.
Watching the idealistic, blunt and hopeful children become independent, challenging, full adults is completely absorbing. Who wants to think about getting old? I mean, no one really, but it's pretty interesting to watch people age before your eyes and to see and hear about the changes that they are going through.
One child, Neil, just broke my heart. At 7 you can easily see the brightness and humor in his eyes. He says that when he's older he doesn't want any children because they are naughty and dirty the house. You can see plainly on his grinning face that he is guilty of this crime and has been scolded for it many a time. By 14, his eyes
have already grown deadened and his front teeth have been busted out at sharp angles, never to be repaired (at least not by 42-- very British!). The light never returns to his face either. He has been raised in a Liverpool suburb and by adolescence feels misunderstood by just about everyone. By 21 he's living in a squat in London and Neil continues to meander on, homeless and fairly destitute. It's striking to see his life begin in such a hopeful way and spiral off and downward, and it's interesting to try to think about why. By 42 he's finally starting to look for real employment and trying to make his way toward a career in something close to his heart. His journey is a rough one to watch, at least for me.
listening to these days?
we all know, the Oscars are really about the fashion-- because, as my dear floor mana
ger Don Ford always says, "It's about the pageantry." Oh, yes. 
this weekend's Oscars, no doubt!) and was super sweet. I pretended I didn't know who he was, and I am positive he realized I was pretending not to know who he was. Agh. He winked at Corrie when she handed him his bag and the end of the counter. What a heartbreaker!
ted to star the likes of Sean Penn and James Franco. I've seen them filming up and down Castro St. recently. The street has been lined with old cars and camera equipment. That movie will be Oscar bait next year, no doubt.