Over the last couple of weeks I have slowly been watching the stars of The Up Series growing, and now were at the stage of “the beginning of the rest of there life”. In this episode the interviewee’s are at the age of 21 years old. We see if there dreams and ambitions are going ahead and we see both the physical and psychological changes that have occurred over the past seven years. We see more of what there life will most indefinitely have in the future, we see if there lives are going to role out as they wanted and as we have wanted them to and we see there hope dreams aspirations for the future lay before them as if they were able to touch them because they are so close, yet so far away.
In 21 up we watch these people begin the rest of there lives.
SUZIE
In the last episode of Suzie we saw that she was shy and negative towards doing the program. In 21 up Suzie has gone from the typical up-town girl to the upper-class scandal. She had left school at 16 and went to Paris to become a typist. Suzie was chain smoking and wasn’t dressed in all the nice expensive cloths the previous time we have seen her on the show. She is still living off her parent’s money and still seems to be a bit stuck up. She doesn’t have a care in the world.
In this episode Suzie was still very negative about everything but seemed extra cynical when it came to marriage. Just after the last episode of 7 up Suzie’s parents split up, this has obviously had a huge impact on her view of life and marriage.
This common but affective change in her life has impacted her view on children also, she said that she didn’t really like children ever and she doesn’t think that she will ever have them or want them.
I would have to agree with Suzie I don’t think at this rate that she will find any one to marry or have children with, so her dream will come true. I think that Suzie will keep on getting worse as we watch the series. She will continue to be a typist and I think her life will be pretty neutral from hear on end.
JOHN
John, another typical upper class boy who has always given the impression that he gets what he wants when he wants, still. John is currently at Oxford University, he is studying law, just as he said he would in the episode before and his hopes for the future are still very much the same.
John was still very opinionated on nearly everything, again still on jobs strikes.
I think he mentioned something about someone working in a car factory, and that that person would make a decent living, from my point of view and I’m sure others as well will agree with me, that a job in a car factory isn’t very financially beneficial. From an upper class person a car factory job may be managing the place, but that also isn’t a very wealthy job. The only way you could make a lot money out of a car factory is by owning a few of them, and I don’t think that this is a very common job back then and even still to this day.
John didn’t appear to have a clue at what the world was or is really like at the time, I think his ambitions of becoming a poilition will come true, I also think that he will marry but e won’t have children. I think that he will crack (midlife crisis type thing) and will never get back up on his feet.
CHARLES
In the upper-class trio of boys, Charles would most defiantly be the deepest thinker. In this episode he claimed that he didn’t make oxford but he was glad that he didn’t keep the “prep-school to the Marlborough to the Oxbridge University conveyor belt". Charles isn’t at oxford but is now at Durham University he didn’t seem very negative or (I think..) bitter (..would be the word) for not being accepted into oxford. I think he might of disappointed his family and friends, but I don’t think he could of cared any less because I think that he was happy with what he had and were he was in life.
I think that Charles will have a successful life, I think that he will have a job that lets express his creativeness and he will be really successful in what ever he does and will live a long happy life.
ANDREW
In the last episode Andrew didn’t really say much, but to me what ever he said had a lot of thought put into it. In this episode Andrew is still the same, he seems more like a listener rather than a speaker, but when he does speak what ever he says appears to have a lot of opinions and choices put into it. Andrew has developed a passion for skiing and does it regularly with his father. He is currently at Cambridge still hoping to become a solicitor of a big company.
In the last episode Andrew didn’t really say much, but to me what ever he said had a lot of thought put into it. In this episode Andrew is still the same, he seems more like a listener rather than a speaker, but when he does speak what ever he says appears to have a lot of opinions and choices put into it. Andrew has developed a passion for skiing and does it regularly with his father. He is currently at Cambridge still hoping to become a solicitor of a big company.
I think that Andrews ambitions will go through as he plans, he appears to be a hard worker. I still think that hw will marry and have 3 children.
NICHOLAS
Nick has finally come out of his hiding hole and come to talk to us, properly.
Nick has finally come out of his hiding hole and come to talk to us, properly.
Nick is a very bright, charismatic character and appears to be very happy person.
His is currently studying physics at oxford university, he hopes to have a career in physics. During the holidays Nick travles back to Arncliffe (home) and helps his father around the farm. He seemed like a very sociable, bubbly person who you could have a very civilized and interesting convocation with.
I think that nick will marry and have children, I also think that he will achieve his career in physics, but will find something later in life that he will enjoy just as much as physics and chemistry ( woman, hobby…ect). I think when he finds this something that he will change his life dramatically to be around it. Such as leaving his career for it.
BRUCE
When we saw Bruce last he was a quiet person who seemed to have a lot of spare time on his hands. You could tell that he was a deeper thinker that the rest of the contestants. In this episode Bruce is very much the same, when asked the questions for the interview he took a LONG time to answer them, most of the footage of Bruce was him thinking.
When we saw Bruce last he was a quiet person who seemed to have a lot of spare time on his hands. You could tell that he was a deeper thinker that the rest of the contestants. In this episode Bruce is very much the same, when asked the questions for the interview he took a LONG time to answer them, most of the footage of Bruce was him thinking.
Bruce is currently at Oxford University studying mathematics’, he doesn’t know where he will be in the next 10 years with his math’s but he still continues with his course.
To me Bruce is still very much the same as he was at 7 and 14. For someone to stay that stable for the start of there life and not change the slightest bit (apart from appearance)he would have to be a strong, smart individual.
I think that Bruce will be really successful in life maybe not financially better off but I think he will be happy and he will make his friends and family proud.
NEIL
The last time we saw Neil he was slowly sinking into a pit of melancholy, well, he has sunk. Neil is squatting in a town house in London.( Squatting: to occupy property as a squatter.). He dropped out of Aberdeen University after one term because he didn’t feel that it was the right place for him at the time and he doesn’t think that he as smart as other people had claimed him to be. Maybe this was because he was struggling with the curriculum or he was under a great deal of stress. I can relate to this situation, usually when I’m under a lot of stress I tend to just give up or quit. It is a very difficult and demanding situation I find it really hard to preserver through it and to put it behind me.
Neil finds work occasionally on building sites or just odd jobs that he can do around the neighbourhood. He finds his ‘house’ ‘comfortable’ he says it is good because he leave and come back when ever he wants. He was REALLY depressed, his depression may even be a mental disease from my opinion and I’m sure that al of my peers would agree to it.
I think that Neil will keep sinking to the bottom, maybe even through the bottom. Neil will not develop a career at this stage, his depression is holding him back and because of his situation ( squatting, no money) it will make the all round situation worse and I don’t think that he will be able to escape it.
PETER
We haven’t really seen much of peter in the last 2 episodes, but in 21 up we see peter open up a little more and show us his real self.
Peter is in University learning history. He also lives in a flat with 3 other room mates who are also in university and are around his age. Even though peter came out of his hiding hole he doesn’t really have a charismatic character, he can’t really reveal his personality to the camera as well as the other participants can.
I think that Peter will live a boring life, he will do all the usual things you do in life such as marry and have children but I don’t think that he will enjoy his job or have a very good marriage.
JACKIE LYNN AND SUE
Jackie Lynn and Sue the infamous trio. The last time we saw them they were typical teenage girls living typical teenage lives.
Jackie Lynn and Sue the infamous trio. The last time we saw them they were typical teenage girls living typical teenage lives.
Jackie and Lynn married at 19, Sue is still single. When Jackie and Lynn were asked if they had regretted there choice Lynn responded by saying that she did think about it sometimes and think “Christ, what have I done” but no more than any other married couple would. Jackie how ever was obviously offended by this question and didn’t look at the camera for the rest of the question.
Lynn is currently working in a mobile library, which goes around the poorer suburbs of London and gives the children a chance to learn. She enjoys this job immensely.
Sue works for a travel agent at the moment and hopes to get married but a little later in life rather than right out of school like Jackie and Lynn.
Lynn has children. Jackie Doesn’t want to have children. "Im to selfish to have children" she claims. This is because she doesn’t think that she could give upher social life and all her free time to live with a smelly screaming baby.
I think that Sue will marry and Jackie will Divorce but will have a child with her current husband. Lynn I think will reman to have a happy stable life and continue working in child care.
TONY
The last time we saw Tony he had settled down and was focusing on becoming a jockey. This time we see him he is a bubbly bright talkative person like he was at the age of 7.
Tony is back to his normal self again, he lives life as it comes and lives it well. Tony’s dream of becoming a jockey failed. He now as he said he would training to become a cab driver. He drives everywhere on his motor scooter learning the routes of London whilst studying the knowledge (The Knowledge, the English cab drivers ‘how to’). This doesn’t sound like a very financially stable job but apparently it is. Cab driving in England can be very profitable and you can have a very healthy lifestyle.
I think that Tony will have a very good life he will see all the things he wants/wanted to and might see some that he wouldn’t have even imagined would happen. I think that he will marry very soon and have children quickly.
SIMON
The last time we saw Simon we saw that he was living with his mother and he wanted to have a job in a trade.
Simon is still living with his mother and has a job in a sausage factory. Simon said that he didn’t want to have a job in the sausage factory for too long.
During the filming of this episode they reunited Simon and Paul and took them back to the charity home were they had once lived. Simon’s appearance hasn’t really changed since the last time we saw him apart from that the ageing in his eyes and the massive afro on top of his head. He obviously is following the fashion for the decade because he was wearing a beanie during the private interviews and he was wearing flair pants when he was shot with Paul.
I think that Simon will still work at the sausage factory for the next 10 years he seemed enthusiastic about it although he didn’t want to admit it. Ii think that he will marry and hopefully not divorce and repeat what his dad did to him also I think he will have plenty of children to look after.
PAUL
When we last saw Paul he was living in Australia with his father and he wanted to live alone in the wilderness. Now when we see Paul we see a much more charismatic, happy and intelligent person who has seemed to opened up to the camera.
Paul is still living in Australia and has a full on Aussie accent. Paul has a girlfriend witch he seems to adore quite a lot. It looks like they are going to get married maybe after the show. During the filming of the show the reunited Paul and Simon, and took them back to the old charity home where they used to live. They walked around the grounds of the old orphanage and re lived memories.
I think that Paul will Marry his Girlfriend and have children with her. And I also believe that he will go into a trade as a career and make a living out of it (looks like the type of person who would love to get his hands dirty.).
