'Join or Die' film comes to Detroit with message that building group bonds key to healthy democracy

There’s a very old-timey photograph from the Detroit Public Library's archive in “Join or Die” that shows the tuxedo-wearing members of a banjo club. It was formed in days of yore by men who belonged to the Detroit Athletic Club.

“American club life was once so thriving, we had clubs inside of clubs,” says the new documentary’s narrator.

The message of “Join or Die” fits the blunt, grabby title. As the movie’s own description puts it, it is “about why you should join a club — and why the fate of America depends on it.”

The documentary, which has had about 250 community screenings across the country so far, is coming to Detroit on Sunday. It is presented by Cinema Detroit, the independent theater that switched to a pop-up format in 2023, and the In Real Life Movie Club, formed to help connect people within their communities. The IRL Club will hold its first event with screenings of "Join or Die" across the country.

Cinema Detroit is showing “Join or Die” on Sunday as the first of a series of screenings at Planet Ant, the Hamtramck theater known for its live theater and improv comedy.

The movie is inspired by and chronicles social scientist and "Bowling Alone" author Robert Putnam’s extensive research on the decline of community groups in America. As Cinema Detroit's Paula Guthat told the Free Press in August, it is "a fascinating look at how we got here and what we might be able to do it reverse it.”

Using lively animation, vintage photos and footage, and interviews with Putman and his fans and students (including Hillary Clinton to Pete Buttigieg), “Join or Die” builds a convincing case that forging community bonds could be the antidote to the heated divisiveness that plagues the United States.

For such a hot topic, "Join or Die" is a thoughtful journey that is calm and civil in tone as it asks three key questions: “What makes democracy work? Why is American democracy in crisis? And, most importantly … what can we do about it?”

It is produced and directed by the sister-and-brother team of Rebecca Davis, a news producer at NBC News for a decade, and Pete Davis, an author, civic advocate and former student of Putnam’s who also narrates the movie.

A respected academic, Putnam became famous in 2000 for “Bowling Alone,” an unexpected best-seller that popularized his years of study on the broader implications of declines in social capital – the social network of positive relationships that help societies run well – and in civic engagement. Putnam has influenced top thinkers and leaders and received numerous honors for his work, including the National Humanities Medal in 2013 from then-President Barack Obama, a former seminar student of his.

“I think what we’re seeing in this moment where so much of community and civic identity and civic life has fallen away from people’s daily rhythm, they’re grasping for something they can hold onto. … A lot of what they’ve ended up grasping onto is political hats or identities.”

So what does joining a club have to do with saving the United States? As the film carefully argues, the social networks fostered by all kinds of groups weave a fabric that helps hold people accountable for their actions and encourages reciprocity of kindness and trust and more.

Putnam's research continues to be popular as Americans experience more and more social isolation and angry political discourse. And while social capital has waned, what 2024 does have in abundance is social media, or as Rebecca Davis says, “It should maybe be (called) anti-social media.”

“Join or Die," however, isn't about the perils of social media. It offers a different perspective.  “We consciously did not touch on technology because we know that everyone is experiencing it daily and have all of their own opinions on it," says Pete Davis.  "One of our hopes was that with this new lens (of the movie), you can look at anything that’s going on in our daily life, including technology, and ask, ‘Is this actually helping us connect with each other?"

And social media followers are not to be confused with social capital, according to Pete Davis.

“They’re not the people that are bringing you soup when you’re sick. They’re not the people that are having hard conversations across" differences, he says. "They’re not the people that are working on cool ideas together to clean up the park or fight city hall or whatever needs to be done in your city.”

Social connections forged in groups can unite people in a multitude of ways and, sometimes, lead to positive changes. But these days, Rebecca Davis points out, a dominant role is often played by a divisive connection.

As Rebecca Davis puts it, "our political identity has really taken on an outsized influence in our lives.”

To highlight new and progressive ways of reviving civic commitment, “Join Or Die” looks at six community groups trying fresh approaches, including Plainsong Farm & Ministry, an Episcopal church that congregates on a farm in Rockford, Michigan.

“We wanted community groups that could inspire the viewer to do what these leaders have done, or to join things like what these leaders have done. And we wanted them to be the real deal,” says Pete Davis, explaining that they found out about Plainsong through a magazine article, adding:

“We loved that it was at the intersection of different things ... and we loved that it was bringing on young people."

Rebecca Davis says that she and her brother, who started working on "Join or Die" in 2017, always saw it as a potential organizing tool.  The film’s website invites local groups to apply to host a screening. “We have all these social media tools … and we meet so many people as we’re touring this film around that say,’I moved to a new town. I don’t know how to get involved. How do I find out?'”

Pete Davis laughs when he’s asked if he remembers what grade he got in Putnam’s class. “I don’t,” he admits.

What he does know is that the course influenced his life. He is a co-founder of Democracy Policy Network, a policy group dedicated to furthering ideas that strengthen and deepen democracy.

“it’s that type of class that sticks with you your whole life,” he says. “ You see yourself not as someone who took a class, but someone who’s kind of joined the Putnam army of people who want to rejuvenate civic life in America. One of our goals of this film was, ‘Can we open up the spirit of that class to millions more people?’”

Contact Detroit Free Press pop culture critic Julie Hinds at [email protected].

"Join or Die"

5:30 p.m. (Doors open at 5 p.m.)

Presented by Cinema Detroit at Planet Ant, 2320 Caniff, Hamtramck.

Tickets are $10 general admission, $15 admission and donation to Cinema Detroit

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: 'Join or Die' documentary offers answer to America's divisive politics