"Seven Up!" - A Documentary on Childhood

Paper Summary:

This paper examines the documentary film "Seven Up!" directed by Peter Almond. It looks at whether the film presents the true voices of the children involved; what they actually think and feel. The paper also examines the way in which children and childhood are presented by the film and the importance of the film in terms of developing our understanding of childhood. The paper argues that the film does not present the true voices of children but rather how these voices are shaped and influenced by the children's environment and their social and economic status.

From the Paper:

"Childhood is a socially constructed concept and as such hides the vast differences between children in terms of age, gender, ethnicity and social status. The film attempted to highlight these issues to some extent. The children chosen for the film were all seven year olds from Britain. Hence in some ways they all shared the same concept of childhood, the western one (as opposed to for example non-western, developing country childhood). To some extent there is a cultural chauvinism in the film, since the children are all fit into this western concept of childhood."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Almond, Peter, dir. Seven Up! 1964. Granada Television.

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