British Reality, Royalty and Ours
In the mayhem of today’s world of politics, social media and relentless stimulation from an array of screens there is something of a respite in two offerings from our once and future partners in the United Kingdom. One is the lavish melodrama “The Crown” currently streaming its third season on Netflix. The other is Michael Apted’s brilliant documentary series whose latest installment is now out in a three-hour film called “63 Up”.
Beginning in 1964, Apted has interviewed a group of people he chose at age seven every seven years: 14, 21, 28,35, 42, 49,56 and now 63. The original concept came from the Jesuit maxim “give me the child at seven and I will give you the man.” Today, of course, that saying would have to be less gender specific.
All 14 of the children lived in what was then usually known as England and is now generally called the United Kingdom in recognition of national movements in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Their diversity such as it was, came from class identification — blue collar to posh, in foster facilities and private boarding schools where children enrolled at seven. There was only one child of mixed race. None of the children were asked their religion or immigrant status. In fact, it is striking now to realize how narrow a cross section these children were, in keeping with the standards of the time.
The original “7 Up” was shot in grainy black and white as a 40- minute film for Granada television, one of the early options for television viewers who paid an annual fee to support the BBC, the state media behemoth.
At that time, Queen Elizabeth II had only reigned for a decade or so; Winston Churchill was still alive. Britain’s bid to join what was then called the European “Common Market” was rejected by Charles DeGaulle who didn’t consider the country sufficiently European. (An irony since today, the U.K. is about to remove itself from the European Union).
The third season of “The Crown” takes this era up as its subject. The Queen, who is portrayed by Olivia Colman in this season, is a dignified presence overseeing what was clearly a decline in the country’s imperial standing. In 1964, the U.K. was soon to withdraw its empire “East of Suez”; devalue the pound sterling and embrace the Beatles — a defining cultural icon for much of the world even as their homeland receded in grandeur.
Watching the non-fiction “63 Up” and the fictionalized “Crown” for anyone with even a smidge of Anglophilia is completely fascinating.
I have watched all the Apted films and wrote (link) about “56 Up” for the Atlantic.com. The filmmaker has helpfully provided excerpts from previous films every time a new one is completed, so if you can devote the three hours for “63 Up” you get the full story. (“63” up is now in theaters and destined to be featured on Netflix, where the other films are already available.)
In writing about this latest in the Up series, it is tricky to characterize the men and women by describing them. Physical assessment of how age has changed them inevitably is not very flattering. The years tend to be hard on hairlines, waistlines and facial crevices. So, set aside the surface display of the group for their deeper selves — who they are now compared to what they were in 1964.
By that standard, Apted’s original premise about the arc of life has proven right. None of the group has veered completely away from what they were. None has come out as gay or transgendered. One of the most appealing of the children clearly struggled with mental illness but now has a measure of satisfaction as a local councilor and lay preacher — while his personal life remains lonely.
One of the 14 has died; another refused to participate this time; another who didn’t in the last film came back to promote his work as a musician. One woman berates Apted for what she saw as condescension to the girls in discussing their futures. Ultimately. all of them appear to have settled into their class identities, no moguls or felons. Enough have been divorced to say that marriages are always at risk. Their roles in the film have become a factor in their lives, although it is not clear whether it has changed them.
As with life itself, “The Crown” at times feels like a soap opera, proving that being regal doesn’t change the fact that we are all human beings. The circumstances of some of us are just fancier than others. I’ve read that “The Crown” is the most expensive television series ever made. The Up series remains modest in its presentation.
The Crown’s depiction of the 1960s will be followed by versions to the present day with the Queen in her 90s and the heir, Prince Charles in his 70s. Three of her four children have been divorced and there have been an array of scandals, most recently “Randy Andy’s” relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
In seven years will she still be Queen, and will Michael Apted still film this group of now elderly Brits?
An American version of the Up series was started but not sustained. Americans are, perhaps, too restless for this sort of continuity. The U.S. does have a kind of royal dynasty in the Kennedy family and their story has been told in countless books, movies and television programs.
If a U.S. “63 Up” did exist, it is likely that contrasts in the chronological episodes would be as great or greater than in the British series. In the 1960s, this country was very far from perfect. But the goals of racial integration, religious tolerance and an American ambition to protect global democracy were central to our national narrative. That cannot be said in the Trump era. And Britain’s choice of Boris Johnson as prime minister takes the country into territory that is unknown and probably tumultuous.
Where will we all be in seven years, as the cliché goes, only time will tell. I will be 83.
