We Support Culture Changers
Arguably, the fastest route to shifting American societal norms in healthier directions is by leveraging popular cultural pathways including film, TV, social media, and music. America’s storytellers can create content that humanizes political tribes to one another, fostering the societal preconditions for healthy civil discourse and collaborative problem-solving.
As the incubator of now-independent Bridge Entertainment Labs, and through investments in pioneering entertainment research and compelling documentary films, Civic Health Project has been an innovator in reducing partisan animosity and fostering social cohesion through popular entertainment.
Grantee Spotlight
The Reunited States
At a time when America is ripping apart at the seams, The Reunited States is a powerful and urgent documentary that follows the unsung heroes on the difficult journey of bridging our political and racial divides. Susan Bro, who lost her daughter when a car drove through a crowd of counter-protestors in Charlottesville, VA and David and Erin Leaverton, a Republican couple who travel to all fifty states in an RV to find out what divides us, are just a few of the characters profiled in the film. Each of these bridge-builders have realized that while our divides run deeper than they ever could have imagined, so does the love and hope to bring our country back together.
Based on the book of the same name by Mark Gerzon, the film urges us to consider that everyone has a role to play in reuniting the country.
Culture Changer Grantees
Abortion Talks
Status: Screenings Available
In the aftermath of John Salvi’s murder spree at two Brookline clinics, leaders from opposing sides of the abortion debate met together in secret talks. None of the participants would change their minds, but the dialogues changed their lives.
Pathos Labs
Pathos Labs is a laboratory, where different media interventions, rooted in the latest research, are tested to assess the role that media and technology play in engineering new norms that predispose us to compassion over divisiveness, to nuance over oversimplification.
Us vs. Them (Working Title)
Status: In Production
The Reunited States
Status: Available to Stream
At a time when America is ripping apart at the seams, “The Reunited States” is a powerful and urgent documentary that follows four everyday heroes on the difficult journey of bridging our political and racial divides. Based on the book of the same name, the film urges us to consider that everyone has a role to play in reuniting the country.
My Country (Mainstream Nation)
Reality TV Show Proposal: Individuals audition to be a part of two politically diverse teams.They compete against each other for a cash prize to prove who can cooperate and be the better community builders.
Strategic Projects
Bridge Entertainment Labs
Civic Health Project launched Bridge Entertainment Labs to help reverse the trend towards deepening division in America by promoting the creation of content that humanizes political tribes to one another, develops shared cultural spaces for Americans of different backgrounds and beliefs, and fosters the societal preconditions for healthy civic debate and collaborative problem-solving.
To that end, Bridge Entertainment Labs – now an independent nonprofit organization – has assembled an expert network of social scientists, bridge-building practitioners, and entertainment industry stakeholders who are working together to:
- ELEVATE civic health and social cohesion as a mainstay topic and impact cause for the entertainment industry.
- EMPOWER creatives to produce content that bridges divides and models healthy conflict.
- EQUIP the entertainment industry with data, research, and resources to accelerate the creation of content that strengthens America’s social fabric.
Watch the Summit on Hollywood & Storytelling in a Divided America
This free half-day virtual event brought together content creators, entertainment executives, and experts from academia and leading nonprofit organizations for a first-of-its-kind exploration of the question: Can Popular Entertainment Save a Fracturing America? Learn about concrete narrative strategies and successful case studies from some of Hollywood’s most recognizable names in TV and film.
