The Up Series: Michael Apted’s Groundbreaking Documentary (1964 — Present)

The Greek philosopher Aristotle once said “Give me a child until he is 7 and I will show you the man” which serves as the central premise of Michael Apted’s groundbreaking independent documentary series Up. Apted recently died at his home in Los Angeles on 7 January 2021, at the age of 79.

Running in the UK since 1964, it has followed the lives of a diverse group of English seven-year-olds, with the loose goal of looking into the development of the country’s leaders in the year 2000. In 1971 we checked in with them at 14 Up, and every seven years since, all the way through to the most recent installment, 63 Up with many of the original participants now retired, no longer with us, or contemplating the lives they’ve led.

The original group of kids are from a broad cross-section of society. Some are from wealth and privilege, others from depressed and poor backgrounds. Some have a strong sense of their path in life, others are just surviving in the moment. What’s apparent through all of the documentaries is how the long-entrenched systems of class, the value of work, and our attachment to the need for family continue to be consistent and timeless.