From Grassroots to Netflix: Inside the Join or Die Impact Campaign

From Grassroots to Netflix: Inside the Join or Die Impact Campaign

From Rough Cut by The Video Consortium

August 5, 2025 · 30 min · Season 6 · Episode 68

About this episode

Caitlin Boyle interviews filmmaker Rebecca Davis about the impact campaign for the documentary Join or Die, which explores community life through the lens of Robert Putnam's work.

In this episode of Rough Cut, guest host Caitlin Boyle sits down with filmmaker Rebecca Davis to discuss the journey behind Join or Die, the powerful documentary that reimagines Robert Putnam’s landmark book Bowling Alone for the screen. Rebecca shares how the team behind the film not only brought Putnam’s ideas on the decline of community life to a broader audience, but also charted an ambitious and intentional path for its distribution. From grassroots community screenings to a Netflix rele...

People in this episode

Host: Caitlin Boyle

Guest: Rebecca Davis

Topics covered

  • documentary
  • community life
  • film distribution
  • grassroots
  • Netflix
  • social impact

Keywords

  • Join or Die
  • Bowling Alone
  • Rebecca Davis
  • Caitlin Boyle
  • Netflix
  • documentary
  • community screenings
  • film distribution

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Join or Die, Bowling Alone

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