​​​​​​​This month's episode is a unique one. Carl interviews filmmaker Rebecca Davis about her new, award-winning documentary, "Join or Die." She is a director and producer of short and long-form documentaries and was previously a senior producer with NBC News for nearly a decade. Though Rebecca is not near retirement, her movie sheds light on how the "(un)retired" can create community in a time when the isolation of the internet and cell phones can absorb much of their daily lives. The movie explores how joining clubs and organizations, in addition to engaging in intergenerational exchanges and mentorship can actually serve to strengthen our society.  "Join or Die" is now on Netflix. (Spoiler Alert! Carl is a huge fan of the movie and its message.)

Rebecca grew up in a middle-class family in Virginia, near Washington D.C. "My brother and I felt lucky to grow up there, as we were exposed to lots of different perspectives," she says. She was also inspired by her father, an anthropologist with a curious eye on the world and community life. In high school, Rebecca worked on the school newspaper with dreams of becoming a journalist and photographer. She tells us that after college and the advent of the digital age, she found a way into video format from journalism and photography, "as a way to do storytelling and explore the narrative more."

Rebecca began working on "Join or Die" when she was still a full-time media producer, working on the film on weekends. It was her first documentary and took 8 years to complete. She says making the film was a "life raft, emotionally" for her as news production isn't always that positive. She was inspired by the work of political scientist and author Robert Putnam, whose earlier work, "Bowling Alone" went viral. Americans had stopped joining clubs and civic organizations. Even the number of dinner parties and picnics had declined. His research showed that those "joining" activities directly correlated to how our Democracy is doing.

Politicians on both sides of the aisle have been supportive of Rebecca's documentary and understand the implications for a healthy nation. After living in NYC for decades, Rebecca has recently moved back to the Washington D.C. area to be closer to family. She notes, "The irony of the internet is someone might know what is happening in a neighborhood in China, but not what's happening on their very own street. And when someone tells me they watched my film and they are now joining a club, I feel really good about that!"​​​​​​​

Rebecca's 2nd (or 3rd) Act Advice:

• "Community happens when you do what you love with others. The bar doesn't have to be high to get going-- start a cycling group, form a movie night, create a cookbook club."

• "Start with a group and then do the hard work of showing up every week. The gains come from doing that."

• ​​​​​​​"Live the life you want to live in the future right now, and see where that leads you!"​​​​​​​

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• More about Rebecca Davis​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

• More about Join or Die

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Diana Landau is the Content Wrangler for Pickleball Media. After 15 years in corporate marketing, in 2012 she pivoted to write and wrangle content for Niche Media's weekly blog. She now manages the "I Used to be Somebody" blog 

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Tags:    blog   unretirement   documentary   film   community   Join or Die   clubs