JOIN OR DIE

A film about why you should join a club — and why the fate of America depends on it.

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ABOUT THE FILM


In this feature documentary, follow the half-century story of America's civic unraveling through the journey of legendary social scientist Robert Putnam, whose groundbreaking "Bowling Alone" research into America's decades-long decline in community connections could hold the answers to our democracy's present crisis.

Flanked by influential fans and scholars — from Hillary Clinton, Pete Buttigieg, and Surgeon General Vivek Murthy to Eddie Glaude Jr., Raj Chetty, and Priya Parker — as well as inspiring groups building community in neighborhoods across the country, join Bob as he explores three urgent civic questions: What makes democracy work? Why is American democracy in crisis? And, most importantly… What can we do about it?

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MEET BOB

Harvard professor Robert D. Putnam is America’s preeminent political scientist — and one of the most widely read and cited social scientists living today. Author of fourteen books, translated into twenty languages, his work focuses on asking big questions about American society and deploying immense, creative studies and analyses to unlock answers.


His groundbreaking “Bowling Alone” research — which demonstrated that levels of American community connections were in decline over the past half-century — rocketed Putnam to national fame in the late 1990s, earning him the moniker “the poet laureate of civil society” and the ear of presidents, religious leaders, and tech founders over the coming decades. In 2012, President Obama awarded Putnam the National Humanities Medal, the nation’s highest honor for contributions to the humanities. As more Americans turn on to the reality of our social isolation crisis, a consistent drumbeat of media interest in revisiting Putnam’s work has grown (See recent mentions in: New Yorker, New York Times, Atlantic, The Ringer, Jacobin, Christianity Today, and NPR.)

FEATURING

THE “BOWLING ALONE” PHENOMENON

40% DECLINE

…from the 1970s to the 1990s in the number of Americans who attended even one public meeting on town or school affairs in the previous year

60% DECLINE

....from the 1970s to the 1990s in the amount of picnics Americans attended annually

50% DECLINE

..from the 1970s to the 1990s in the number of Americans who took any leadership role in any local organization.

35% DECLINE

…from the 1960s to the 2020s in religious congregation membership

50% DECLINE

...from the 1970s to the 1990s in the number of times Americans attended a club meeting the previous year.

66% DECLINE

…from the 1960s to the 2010s in union membership

Meet the Team

Made with the support of

FURTHER READING

PRESS

  • "Join or Die makes a compelling argument and does so with style…Davis & Davis...establish themselves as an upbeat documentary duo that can communicate important, complex ideas in easy-to-digest packaging."

  • "Join or Die proves itself vital and relevant, a necessary documentary that promises the conversation will continue long after the credits have rolled."

  • "[A] sense of humor, bolstered by a plucky voiceover, cute animations, and clever editing quick with a punch line, is all over Join or Die."

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