Presentation: "Join Or Die" documentary film screening and discussion
SAVE THE DATE!
Join your Ritchie neighbours on April 18 for a documentary film screening followed by a community discussion on the topic of community!
Join or Die is a film about why you should join a club—and why the fate of America
depends on it. Follow the story of America's civic unraveling through the journey of Robert Putnam, whose legendary "Bowling Alone" research into American community
decline may hold the answers to our democracy's present crisis.
This film is American-based, but we have seen similar issues pop up across Canada - social isolation, disconnection from our neighbours, widening gaps between empowered and disempowered folks. Community leagues offer a unique solution to the civic unraveling described in the film, and we will hopefully explore that in our post-film discussion!
Doors open at 6:00pm, with the film starting at 6:30pm. Come early and mingle with your neighbours, grab a snack and a seat. Following opening remarks, we will show the film in its entirety, then our volunteers will facilitate a community discussion.
Presented alongside Ritchie neighbour, Not Ladylike Community.
ABOUT THE FILM
Join or Die is a film about why you should join a club — and why the fate of America depends on it. 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 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?
ABOUT ROBERT PUTNAM:
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. 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.
