21 Up Analysis
The American documentary 21 Up directed by Michael Apted was released in 1977 and follows the journey of several socially, economically and racially diverse children every 7 years till they reach 21. Through the premise of the film it is suggested that what we see of these individuals at the age of 7 is indicative of what we shall see at 21. The Jesuit maxim "Give me a child at seven and I will give you the man", underpins this foundation exploring the impact of a child’s environment on their long-term development, grappling with the age old “nature vs nurture” debate. Through, the concepts of fate we are positioned to accept the premise that a child’s core temperament is set by seven, however, it is further revealed that as their opportunities
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Typically I have always found myself aspiring to be happy rather than wealthy so when Lucy, one of the Manhattan girls, announced “I want to be rich when I’m older… I like to be rich” I was deeply taken aback that such a young child would say something like this. This sequence particularly resonated with me as during my encounter with children living in the Indian slums I saw how though these kids may not have had much, they were all so blissful and excited which made me dejected to think that children in first world countries as mine, were so caught up in the ideologies of which money brings from such a young age that they were not as happy. Additionally, as my intention for traveling to such a contrasting country was for an escape from home as well as wanting to help a small community I couldn’t help myself thinking how we are the ones who need help after all and that as a society we have much to learn from the attitudes of the misfortunate. Further I was unsettled as to why first world countries like ours suffer from mental illnesses not nearly remotely as prevalent in places like India. Embellished by the directors efforts, of mise-en-scene and low camera angles I aligned with the invited reading, ultimately seeing Lucy as a privileged, sheltered and naïve
Typically I have always found myself aspiring to be happy rather than wealthy so when Lucy, one of the Manhattan girls, announced “I want to be rich when I’m older… I like to be rich” I was deeply taken aback that such a young child would say something like this. This sequence particularly resonated with me as during my encounter with children living in the Indian slums I saw how though these kids may not have had much, they were all so blissful and excited which made me dejected to think that children in first world countries as mine, were so caught up in the ideologies of which money brings from such a young age that they were not as happy. Additionally, as my intention for traveling to such a contrasting country was for an escape from home as well as wanting to help a small community I couldn’t help myself thinking how we are the ones who need help after all and that as a society we have much to learn from the attitudes of the misfortunate. Further I was unsettled as to why first world countries like ours suffer from mental illnesses not nearly remotely as prevalent in places like India. Embellished by the directors efforts, of mise-en-scene and low camera angles I aligned with the invited reading, ultimately seeing Lucy as a privileged, sheltered and naïve