Democracy on Camera: Join or Die
This compelling and playful documentary is about why you should join a club — and why the fate of American democracy depends on it. Pre-show discussion.
This compelling and playful documentary is about why you should join a club — and why the fate of American democracy depends on it.
Legendary social scientist Robert Putnam rocketed to fame in the 1990s with his groundbreaking book Bowling Alone, which posited that America's decades-long decline in community connections could hold the answers to our democracy's present crisis. As the unraveling of our social fabric has accelerated in the COVID era, the public is searching for fundamental explanations of our civic decline: Why don't our politics or government work? Why can't we see eye-to-eye with our neighbors? What accounts for the gap between the empowered few and the disempowered many?
The answers to these questions are complex—and no single scholar can definitively answer any of them. But Robert Putnam is a master at translating his trailblazing social science research into engaging stories, and this illuminating and hopeful documentary (which also played at the 2024 White River Indie Fest) brings those ideas to the big screen.
Flanked by influential fans and scholars—from Hillary Clinton and Pete Buttigieg to Surgeon General Vivek Murthy—as well as inspiring groups building community in neighborhoods across the country, join Bob as he explores why American democracy is in crisis and, most importantly, what we can do about it.
Pre-show discussion with Harvard Professor Robert Putnam, led by Professor Charles Whelan.
