What the Beatles “Get Back” Documentary Can Teach Social Workers About Family Relationships

The Beatles’ 2021 documentary, “Get Back,” provides a unique lens into the intersection of family systems and adult relationships of the most important pop group in history. In 1969, 16 months after the death of their manager and father-figure, Brian Epstein, the Beatles gather to make a film about making an album. Three of the Beatles had been making music together for more than 10 years at this point and had become a second family to each other while carrying their family-of-origin history with them. They have grown up together, married and partnered, and are wondering whether to stay together as a group. I view them as siblings who are struggling with the typical characteristics of such relationships that are often marked by affection, ambivalence, and ambiguity. Implications for social work practice with families and siblings are included.