weirder together

SXSW documentary says joining a group is the key to democracy and not dying next year

Political scientist Robert D. Putnam believes social capital is the basis of good government and good lives, and so does the new documentary Join or Die.

Film still from Join or Die

In a place that values weirdness — or at least claims to — it may seem odd to be urged to assimilate into a well-defined social group. But that's what Join or Die, a documentary with a world premiere at South by Southwest (SXSW) on March 12, prescribes.

It is a matter of health: In 1995, political science researcher Robert D. Putnam asserted that, statistically, joining and participating in just one group cuts a person's likelihood of dying in the next year in half. It's also a matter of democracy.

Putnam started his research in Italy when the government was regionalized (i.e. split into the 20 regions we now recognize as Lombardy, Tuscany, and others), realizing a unique opportunity to start gathering data from the very beginning of a government system. He compared success in those regional governments by measuring data like how often they achieved their own publicly set goals, and the overall satisfaction of constituents.

Wealth was a factor that set apart most successful regions from unsuccessful ones, but within the successful range more money did not necessarily mean more success. One can assume a certain amount of money helps until a certain point. This set Putnam on a path of searching for greater correlation (as close to a straight line as possible) between practice and success, which eventually led him to civic engagement.

After the film lays out Putnam's initial experiments and findings in his landmark book from 2000, Bowling Alone, it settles into its apparent true purpose: distilling the written theory for more casual consumption over 99 minutes, and setting up case studies and testimonials (including an emotional look into the bonds of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in Waxahachie, Texas) from two decades deeper into America's plunge into individualism.

"Social capital" is the center of the theory: When people make and strengthen connections, their networks build value. Greater reciprocity — the idea that people will help and punish each other for mutual benefit — eventually leads to greater trust in the social system. The film also identifies a type of person who is predisposed to getting involved (a "joiner") and discusses what makes events appeal to those people (a clearly defined and communicated purpose).

The film did not explicitly distinguish the difference between healthy groups and cults or conspiracies — although the premier audience responded strongly to it in the following Q&A with Putnam, sibling filmmakers Rebecca and Pete Davis, and other key players.

"One of the things that is mentioned in the film, but actually not named in the film, is a distinction between two different kinds of social capital or two different kinds of networks: networks that link you to people just like yourself, and networks that link you to people who are unlike you," Putnam offered. "The jargon here...is 'bridging' and 'bonding.'"

He used an example that assigned bonding social capital to his relationships with other elderly, Jewish, white, male professors like him, but assigned bridging social capital to those relationships with people of different generations, races, professions, and political ideologies.

"And I'm not saying bridging, good; bonding bad," Putnam continues," because if you if you get sick, the people bringing chicken soup are likely to be your bonding social capital. But I am saying that a modern diverse country like ours needs a lot of bridging social capital.... My grandmother ... said, 'Birds of a feather flock together.' And what she meant was, 'Bridging social capital is harder to build than bonding social capital. She didn't think I'd understand that, which is why she used the avian metaphor."

This sense of humor, bolstered by a plucky voiceover, cute animations, and clever editing quick with a punch line, is all over Join or Die. Although there is a focus on the continuing decline of social capital and in-person infrastructure since midcentury America, the tone is overall inviting. Putnam is explicitly categorized as an optimist, and he emphasizes that he doesn't think we need to revert to the '50s; we should just examine what led to the culture full of joiners.

Other actionable theories asserted by the film include that social capital is best built face-to-face as opposed to digitally; that groups are strongest when they exist out of a natural desire to participate rather than a feeling of obligation; and that building meaningful connections is hard, which is part of what drives their eventual value.

Austinites interested in not dying might want to explore some of the following clubs, group activities, and volunteer opportunities previously covered by CultureMap:

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San Antonio leads Texas on ending horse-drawn carriage rides by 2030

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Horses will no longer pull carriages on the streets of downtown San Antonio.

San Antonio has pulled off something that the rest of Texas has yet to do, but it didn't come without some contentious conversations. City Council has unanimously voted (with one abstention) to phase out the use of horse-drawn carriages over the next five years. That means by January 1, 2030, there will be none on the streets at all; instead, there will be electric carriages.

These plans have been in the making since 2022 — if not always at the same level of intensity — when District 2 Councilmember Jalen McKee-Rodriguez and District 3 Councilmember Phyllis Viagran wrote up some concerns about the horses' wellbeing. A special session at the end of October 2024 hinted to San Antonians that the end for this practice was neigh — sorry, nigh — and the final vote was made on December 12. In addition to accepting the plan, it extended its timeframe by two years.

The initial proposal included worries about the horses' exposure to traffic and pollution, as well how their presence might exacerbate those issues for the environment at large by slowing traffic. It also raised concerns about the effects of standing or walking on hard surfaces for too long, or spending time in extreme weather.

At the December 12 meeting, San Antonians gave impassioned speeches about animal welfare — both to call attention to the need for better conditions and to defend the reputations and jobs of current horse drivers — but it wasn't the first time the council heard from the public about the issue.

In a prior city survey, 50,476 respondents weighed in. Of those respondents, 51.98 percent said they liked the idea to "Transition horse-drawn carriages to electric carriages and pedicabs and ban horse drawn carriages completely." There were alternative solutions listed, but respondents were less drawn to them.

A cultural divide emerged in the data and continued in the December meeting: some people avoided the carriages because they worried about the treatment of the horses, while others enjoyed them because of their historical echoes and living legacy. Many speakers in favor of the plan used this to form their argument, raising questions about history versus progress.

More tangible objections to the plan hinged on the businesses — specifically five companies — and jobs that would be lost, which was the main factor behind extending the adjustment period.

Discussions about the particulars of the electric vehicles are still to come, as confirmed in the discussion near the end of the meeting. Councilmember Jalen McKee-Rodriguez addressed concerns about what would happen to the horses, mentioning the Brady Hunter Foundation as a future partner in finding them rescue homes.

Some council members also brought up rhetorical questions about animal exploitation by groups like Sea World, the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo, military and police forces, and even various groups in the Fiesta parade, although these did not come with a formal motion to pick the issues up.

This decision could have a ripple effect on other Texas cities. Dallas has recently considered a similar ban, but it appears to have stalled; Austin's attempts at a ban have been unsuccessful, but according to the Austin-American Statesman, only one operator is permitted to bring horses downtown. She declines to do so because the long hours are unfair to her and the horses. Houston does have horse-drawn carriages, and there seems to be little conversation about banning them.

Cities like Chicago and Salt Lake City have led the charge in the United States with some of the most prominent successful bans. Other cities around the world with bans include Brussels and Guadalajara, which both switched to electric models. Bans that have been around for years, like Guadalajara's and Prague's, still aren't out of the woods — people are still pushing back on the decision, so it sounds like San Antonio still has much work cut out for it.

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weirder together

SXSW documentary says joining a group is the key to democracy and not dying next year

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San Antonio leads Texas on ending horse-drawn carriage rides by 2030

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