42 Up

Time to check in on the children of Seven Up in the year 1998, at age 42. More than any film yet, this one shows the subjects being incredibly introspective about both their own lives and their participation in this documentary series. Undoubtedly, this is in part due to 40 being commonly considered the "mid-life" point. Whether the people themselves were just naturally thinking along these lines, or the interviewer pointed his questions to this theme is not entirely clear, but the content certainly reflects this shift in tone.

Tony, the London cab driver, was always in the series as an example of a child from a lower-class (though not impoverished) background. He seems to have bucked the thesis and moved into the middle class, objectively speaking. He and his wife are still married. They've moved into a new home in a better neighborhood, which they are remodeling, though they have taken on considerable debt to do it. (See, the middle class "dream.") Tony had hoped his oldest son would also become a cabbie, but his interest is in working with furniture. Meanwhile, their youngest daughter is, in his wife's words, "just not interested in school -- like Tony was."

But the bigger development in Tony's life surrounds his marriage, not his home. He had an affair with another woman, and was caught by his wife. Despite it being "touch and go" for a while, they've stayed together. She says she forgave him because she still felt something between them, and for the sake of their three kids. Tony does get defensive in discussing it, but interestingly, his concern centers around the possible perception that he cheated because of his class. He wants to make it clear to the documentary viewers that anyone in any standing of society could have cheated. So right away, here's a piece of that "hyper-awareness" of the documentary itself that permeates this installment.

Suzy is still very happily married. She has been a stay at home mother for her three children, a decision she made because she did not want to send her children to boarding school the way she was as a child. But she has taken part time work as a grief counselor, inspired in large part by the loss of her own parents. She's also beginning to think about what she might do when her children have all moved out; the oldest is leaving for university within a few years. Generally, she looks to the future and dwells little on the past.

Symon is back after being absent from 35 Up. That absence was due to his being in the process of divorcing his wife at the time. He is now remarried to a woman with a teenage daughter from an earlier marriage. That child, plus one they've had together, plus the five from his first marriage, means there are a staggering seven children in his family. (Though it seems as though his ex-wife has custody of those earlier children, as they don't really appear in this documentary.) He has continued to bounce from low-paying job to low-paying job, as the class-structure thesis of the films had always forecast; he's now a fork lift drive at an air freight company.

Bruce has returned from Bangladesh, and is still teaching -- now at a Roman Catholic girls' school in London. He says he took that position for the promotion, to become the head of the "maths faculty," but in the process he met a fellow teacher whom he married just last year. He says he has no aspirations to become a "deputy head teacher," because that position tends to pull you out of the classroom. He also says he feels "middle age contentment."

Then there's the trio of Jackie, Lynn, and Sue.

Lynn no longer works in a mobile library, as budget cutbacks closed that program. But she's still a librarian, at a school. And she's still happily married to the man she married at 19. (And her fellow subjects Jackie and Sue speak of envying her for succeeding at marriage where they failed.) Her two daughters are now teenagers, one very similar to her, she thinks. Her brain condition, revealed in the previous film, is unchanged, but the doctors have said the chances of a hemorrhage are minimal, and so she doesn't dwell on it. This topic seems to be the gateway for the interviewer to inquire about her spirituality, but she flatly refuses to discuss that topic as being private.

Sue is much the same as we saw her last. She's still a single parent, though she acknowledges how much help her parents have provided to her. She's been working since both her kids went into school. She's now seeing someone, but "it's still early days yet," and so the film doesn't give any more time to the matter.

Jackie, who went from unlikely to ever have kids, to blessed and thrilled with the one boy she had as of 35 Up, now has two more boys. The father of these two was from Scotland, and she moved with him there, only for the couple to then split up. She's also been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, but says that while she's "down and depressed about my illness," she's "certainly not down and depressed about my life." She's found help from her would-be mother-in-law, who helps her with the three boys. Of raising them, she notes that around the time of 35 Up, her own father said to her "the one thing I should have done is push you harder," and she says she's trying to apply that to her own children.

Nick, the farmboy turned physicist, is another case where the films' premise seems to have completely missed the mark. He's now a full professor at his university, and has published two books about semi-conductors. He's still married to the woman we met in 28 Up (whose portrayal there led her to decline to participate in the films ever since). They're still raising their one son, saying that with their crazy jobs, there's really no time for any more. In the absence of major new developments in Nick's life, the film takes the opportunity to follow him on a trip back to his family farm in England, which is closing up. His father is too old to work it, and Nick's two brothers have pursued other careers. So all the livestock has been sold, and the "family business" is coming to an end.

Paul, the lower-class example who moved to Australia as a child is still happily married and now installs signs for an industrial plastics company. A few years ago, he took a run at going back to school, in the hopes of building his skills to become a carpenter. He gave it up upon learning that there were simply too many skilled carpenters already to really find much work. The couple has moved to a new home, and the two both work to pay for it. Their son, whose education they were concerned about in the previous film, is now enrolled in an alternative school program.

As for the other trio of John, Andrew, and Charles, there's little to say. Charles, who has declined to participate since age 21, does not appear now. We're told he now edits science documentaries at Channel Four. John, who missed a film, then returned for 35 Up to highlight his concerns for Bulgaria, again seems to feel that he's made his point, and declines to appear. Andrew is the only one of the three to return, but very little seems to have changed in his life. He remains married and very successful. His oldest son is soon to be a teenager, and about to leave for the very boarding school Andrew himself attended at that age.

Lastly, there's Neil, the care-free boy turned homeless, borderline suicide case. 42 Up brings more twists in his unusual life. He's gone into politics, saying that he grew tired of seeing others who knew less than he did making all the decisions. Though the position pays nothing (he lives off the state), he has become a Liberal Democrat member of council of the London borough of Hackney.

Also of interest, we learn that Neil has forged a strong friendship with another one of the documentary subjects, Bruce. Bruce provided Neil a place to stay for a while after Neil relocated to London. Neil spoke at Bruce's wedding. It seems only natural that connections might have formed among this small group of people sharing the same odd connection, but until now, the only people to have been grouped together were the two trios that were interviewed that way from the very first film.

One final extra bit in 42 Up, different from the prior films, is that it concludes with a montage of answers from all the participants on a few specific subjects. First, the interviewer asks them if England is indeed a class-driven society.

Tony: Yes, some people have to push hard to get into a position, where others can just be given it because Daddy is a member of the right club.

Andrew: I know people of all social classes, and would hire regardless of that.

Sue: Do you even want to be part of another circle?

Nick: The classes police themselves, and the people around you point out if you try to step out of line.

Symon: Young people are starting to burst forward today; it's better than it was.

Jackie: Money is an advantage, but I don't know that it's "class" as such.

Neil: The only excuse for class is ignorance.

Suzy: It does exist to a certain extent. I'd love it to change, but what can really be done? But then, look at how messed up some of the upper class is. I wouldn't swap out for that.

Bruce: Opportunities are limited by your background. I hope education is one way out.

Paul: Yes, definitely.

Lynn: There's the advantaged and disadvantaged.

And the interviewer closes by asking about the subject that bubbled to the top of this particular film -- has there been an effect on your life, being in these films?

Sue: Every seven years, you scramble, wondering what you can say that has changed in your life.

Nick: I wish I could say I'm more famous for doing my science than for being in this film, but unfortunately that's not going to happen.

Neil: I've met interesting people all over the world, and close friendships have come from the program.

Jackie: I enjoy it, because I don't think I would have kept a record of my life otherwise.

Andrew: "If you came to ask to do this to my children, I wouldn't be enthusiastic."

Symon: It has restricted me, pulling me back into line, knowing people would be watching me. (Interesting unintended double meaning of "restricted" there?)

Suzy: I find it hard to deal with, but I try to put it away for seven year periods.

Bruce: It's just a periodic little intrusion.

Tony: Instead of picking up the celebrity in your cab, it turns you into one on occasion.

Paul: I think it's a little exciting when it comes around, I'll admit.

Lynn: We're linked; that can never go away.

And there you have it. There's only one more film left in this series before I'll be waiting in "real time" for another seven years to pass.