How the Museum of the Moving Image Captured Why Trump Happened

Will the country recover from the Trump Presidency? It’s a question that has many of us fluctuating between motivated opposition and the desire to disengage. As the country probes his legitimacy, the Museum of the Moving Image, in Astoria, NY, offers a fascinating and novel insight into answering this question.

MOMI houses the nation’s largest collection of artifacts documenting the evolution of the art and technology of the moving image. The museum is located in a building formerly owned by Kaufman Astoria Studios, a historical film studio facility now serving as New York City’s only backlot. It offers its visitors a diverse program of permanent and temporary exhibitions, educational events, and screenings. These depict the role that film plays in our modern society.

A couple of weeks ago the museum screened the political documentary Get Me Roger Stone in the main auditorium. It was followed by a lively panel discussion with directors Morgan Pehme, Daniel DiMauro, and Dylan Bank, and broadcast news mogul Dan Rather. The revolutionary political documentary tells a story of reciprocal reverence between Stone and Trump, tracing their relationship back to the 1980s. A historical archival resource in its own right, the film successfully takes apart the idea — propogated by some — that Trump’s behavior is anywhere…