Every Seven Years
The Shape of Aging
British film and television director, Michael Apted (1941-2021), posed a question that defines the Up series of films featuring a group of 20 British children. The first screening in 1964, Seven-Up, began the journey from childhood to teenagers to adulthood—filming every seven years—through careers, marriage, divorce, parenting, bereavement and more.
At the heart of the project are questions of class, education, wealth and the all-important thread that began Apted’s interest in capturing all this. His premise:
Give me a child until he is seven and I will show you the man.
If it had been later than 1964, he may have changed the wording to “man or woman” or “person.” I especially enjoy hearing what the girls have to say. Even though this analysis is through the lens of the British class system, it remains relatable to my middle-class public school American experience during the mid-twentieth century. He carried on his project through 49-Up and other directors have continued it with 56 and 63. Now, the final segment, 70-Up is due to be released later this year with reflections on the triumphs, trials and tribulations of these individuals and what happened to their hopes and dreams.
I have seen them all these films and will watch this final piece as if catching up with some old faraway friends.
Austrian educational philosopher, Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925), created a system of childhood development as three seven-year cycles that became the foundation of the holistic Waldorf Education Program popularized in the United States after World War I. The educational, therapeutic, and creative system seeks to use mainly natural means to optimize physical and mental health and well-being.
Self-discovery begins early. A baby looks into a mirror and sees herself—some recognition takes place. The markers of time and the milestones of change are continually pointed out with birthday parties. A twelve-year-old suddenly enters the realm of teenager. Childhood can feel like endless days of school. They cannot wait to grow up.
Swiss Psychiatrist Carl Jung (1875-1961) is known for his theories on Archetypes and Collective Unconscious, but his ideas on Individuation complete a view on the human lifespan into three passages of adulthood—under the best circumstances, a process of turning inward and integrating the whole self.
I attended a celebration of life for a 97-year-old woman I had not seen in many years. I knew her mostly in her 30s and 40s as the fun mother of a school friend. I looked over the table of photos showing the pretty young child, spunky young woman, beaming newlywed to children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. A long active life is an accomplishment that so many are not given the time for.
Most people my age have already lost both their parents. As I find myself edging into the category of oldest person in the room in many settings, it recently dawned on me that there is nobody alive who knew me as a baby and few who even have a good sense of the trajectory of my long life.
Suggestion:
Take a sheet of paper and write down the year of your birth and then mark each seven years along with the year that occurred. It is a helpful way to think back on your experiences with more specific memories. I have had ten of these seven-year chapters and find myself in the midst of number eleven.
Check out highlights from the Seven Up series here.
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