On the (Un)Predictability of Life
We have been watching recently a documentary series begun by British director Michael Apted in 1964 and spanning 42 years called the Up series.
For those of you not up to speed with obscure films, it is a sort of social experiment where Apted chose 14 7-year-olds from a variety of backgrounds in British society and has interviewed them every seven years. Except for some stupid questions asked by the interviewer, we are loving the experience of learning about these 14 individuals, having seen them at 7, 14, and 21 years of age -- brief snippets of their lives.
It is not like reality TV at all; we are not watching them live their lives, we are just listening to their descriptions of who they were, who they are, and who they want to be.
Apted, I believe, originally set out to see if it is true that one can predict where a person will be as an adult from where he or she is as a young child.
It is fascinating to see which people change and which ones don't; when they change, if they do, and why; how education or lack of it affects them, and whether they even care; how divorce has affected them; or how religious upbringing has affected them. Whose dreams have seen fulfillment? Whose have failed? What lessons have they learned?
People are complicated, and so is time. For some of these people, they are exactly where they thought they would be at 7. For others, they are at an entirely different place. Did that change or even reverse when they turned 28?
These films probably raise more questions than answers, but they definitely get one thinking. It is clear that the interviewing process has forced the subjects to consider things they had not before. Are they where they are because of choices they have made or are they just along for life's ride?
Education is a key theme in the films, and I think this last question is where education is most important. One educated character was commenting on how it wasn't that he necessarily had more opportunities than less wealthy students, but rather that he was made more aware of his options than the others.
No, we cannot say with certainty where life will take us, but as for me anyway, I am happy that humans at least have the ability to make choices along that ride.
For those of you not up to speed with obscure films, it is a sort of social experiment where Apted chose 14 7-year-olds from a variety of backgrounds in British society and has interviewed them every seven years. Except for some stupid questions asked by the interviewer, we are loving the experience of learning about these 14 individuals, having seen them at 7, 14, and 21 years of age -- brief snippets of their lives.
It is not like reality TV at all; we are not watching them live their lives, we are just listening to their descriptions of who they were, who they are, and who they want to be.
Apted, I believe, originally set out to see if it is true that one can predict where a person will be as an adult from where he or she is as a young child.
It is fascinating to see which people change and which ones don't; when they change, if they do, and why; how education or lack of it affects them, and whether they even care; how divorce has affected them; or how religious upbringing has affected them. Whose dreams have seen fulfillment? Whose have failed? What lessons have they learned?
People are complicated, and so is time. For some of these people, they are exactly where they thought they would be at 7. For others, they are at an entirely different place. Did that change or even reverse when they turned 28?
These films probably raise more questions than answers, but they definitely get one thinking. It is clear that the interviewing process has forced the subjects to consider things they had not before. Are they where they are because of choices they have made or are they just along for life's ride?
Education is a key theme in the films, and I think this last question is where education is most important. One educated character was commenting on how it wasn't that he necessarily had more opportunities than less wealthy students, but rather that he was made more aware of his options than the others.
No, we cannot say with certainty where life will take us, but as for me anyway, I am happy that humans at least have the ability to make choices along that ride.