56 Up

A cross-section of seven-year-olds interviewed for 7 Up in 1964 reveals immediately how social origins shape attitudes toward life. The upper-class children display confidence and self-assurance, while those from middle- and working-class backgrounds seem resigned to a challenging life of hard work. This premise is tested every seven years as the same cohort is revisited to chart the progression of their lives. Forty-nine years in the making, the transformations undergone by the original fourteen participants yield a fascinating television chronicle that, in many ways, mirrors the stories of all our lives. From success and disappointment to marriage and parenthood, to poverty and illness, nearly every facet of life is captured on film. Now, at age 56, the group are once more brought together and, with the benefit of hindsight, assess whether their lives have been ruled by circumstance or forged through self-determination.