“Join or Die" at the Figge Art Museum -- February 11.
Sunday, February 11, 3 p.m.
Figge Art Museum, 225 West Second Street, Davenport IA
An official selection at the SXSW Film & TV Festival, the Denver Film Festival, the Tallgrass Film Festival, and more than a dozen additional gatherings for fans of cinema, the acclaimed documentary Join or Die will enjoy a February 11 screening at Davenport's Figge Art Museum, with audiences invited to follow the half-century story of America's civic unraveling through the journey of legendary social scientist Robert Putnam.
Co-presented by Representative Ken Croken and Rock Island's Clock Inc., whose mission "is to provide a non-judgmental, safe, and reliable community center for LGBT+ individuals to reduce any feelings of discrimination or isolation," Join or Die concerns Putnam, the groundbreaking innovator whose "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, viewers will join Putnam 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?
The author of 14 books translated into 20 languages, Putnam's work focuses on asking big questions about American society and deploying immense, creative studies and analyses to unlock answers. His “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, with recent articles devoted to his studies found in The New Yorker, the New York Times, The Atlantic, The Ringer, Jacobin, Christianity Today, and on NPR.
Critics, meanwhile, have lavished directors Rebecca and Pete Davis' documentary with praise. According to Culturemap Austin, "[A] sense of humor, bolstered by a plucky voiceover, cute animations, and clever editing quick with a punchline, is all over Join or Die." And as stated in Film Inquiry magazine, "Join or Die proves itself vital and relevant," adding that the films is "a necessary documentary that promises the conversation will continue long after the credits have rolled."
Join or Die will be screened in the Figge Art Museum's John Deere Auditorium at 3 p.m. on February 11, and patrons are welcome to attend a Community Volunteer Drive beginning at noon that Sunday. Admission is a suggested $10 donation unless individuals bring someone else with them, in which case the screening is free (though donations are gratefully accepted). For more information, visit FiggeArtMuseum.org and PutnamDoc.com.
