Summary

One in this series of public affairs programs. This program is the first in a unique series of documentaries, in which subjects are interviewed every seven years in a longitudinal study, with an emphasis on social mobility and socio-economic status. Fourteen seven-year-olds from diverse backgrounds respond to questions about romance, lifestyles, class issues, and the future. The narrator introduces profiles of the leaders of Britain for the year 2000. First, from an exclusive kindergarten, John, Charles, and Andrew condemn the Beatles' music and hairstyles; from a children's orphanage, Simon and Paul talk glowingly of fighting, while Charles condemns it; from a London housing estate, Jackie, Susan and Lindsey laugh about fighting; and from a fashionable girls' school, Suzie says she hates boys who fight. Following footage of uniformed boys marching, Andrew condemns troublemakers, John praises the demerit system, and Suzie attends a languid ballet class; meanwhile, Neil, who lives in a Liverpool suburb, participates in free movement class. Next, Andrew, Tony, and Susie share their varying bedtimes; Nicholas, who attends a one-room schoolhouse, laments being the only child in the village; and Neil says he hates the outdoors. Other comments include the following: Simon scarcely thinks of girls, but Nicholas and Neil enjoy kissing them; Jackie, Lindsey, and Susan laugh as two boys kiss one another; Bruce says his girlfriends live in foreign countries; Suzie wants a nanny for her children; and Andrew and John pay little attention to girls. Cafeterias at schools for rich and poor children are then contrasted. Additional comments include the following: John believes private schools prevent overcrowding; Jackie, Susan, and Lindsey want to help the poor; Andrew remarks on shares he holds in the Financial Times; Simon condemns rich people; Charles, Andrew and John grudgingly criticize the wealthy; and Tony just wants to hit them. Also, Jackie says black people are "just the same as us"; Suzie says she doesn't want to know anybody who is "colored"; Nicholas and Neil express negative comments toward black people; and Simon asserts his black identity. Following a dance for the fourteen children, Andrew and John discuss the poor children they met. The children then discuss the future: John and Charles want to attend Cambridge and Oxford, Tony wants to be a "monkey," Paul is uncertain of what "university" means, Neil and Nicholas hope to be astronauts, Jackie wants a house, Lindsey wants to work at Woolworth's, and Bruce is eager to teach in Africa. The program concludes as the kids romp on the playground and the announcer advises viewers to tune in on Tuesday, May 2, 2000.

("28 Up" is available in the Museum's collection, featuring updates on most of these individuals up to the age of twenty-eight. See T:14709 and T:14710.)

Cataloging of this program was made possible by The Marc Haas and Helen Hotze Haas Foundation, 1998.