Hollywood and Storytelling In a Divided America

Bridge Entertainment Labs (formerly The Center for Entertainment & Civic Health) presents:



Hollywood and 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.

Panelists included: Pete Nicks (Emmy Award-Winning Cinematographer, Producer, & Director), Abigail Disney (Documentary Film Producer & Philanthropist), Dr. Dave Caplan, PhD (Writer & Executive Producer Co-Showrunner, Rob Long (Writer & Producer, “Cheers” & Co-Founder, Ricochet), “The Conners”), Korie and Willie Robertson (A&E’s “Duck Dynasty”+), Dean Batali (Writer & Executive Producer, “That 70s Show,” “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”), Eric K. Ward (Executive Director, Western States Center), Lena Slachmuijlder (SVP, Search for Common Ground), Dr. Peter T Coleman (Professor of Psychology and Education Columbia University), Shamil Idriss (CEO, Search for Common Ground), Riaz Patel (Executive Producer, Axial Entertainment), Melissa Weintraub (Executive Director, Resetting the Table), Jeff Chao (VP of Finance, Digital Domain), Betsy Levy Pauck (Professor of Psychology and Public Affairs, Princeton University, Macarthur “Genius Award” Winner), Kristin Hansen (Executive Director, Civic Health Project), Christina Lindstrom (Head of Impact Measurement & Assessment, SIE Society), Yolanda T. Cochran (SVP of Live-Action Long-Form Production, ViacomCBS).


Recorded Live October 16th, 2021