I finally visited the Museum of the Moving Image after living here for 2+ years. Yes, I know it was horrible of me (being a film major and all) to not have gone sooner. Now that I have happily visited, I find myself wanting to live there. Right inside the museum, on the second floor beneath the wall of beautiful faces (of brilliant actors). I call it the glamour wall. It was a photo filled wall of all my favorite celebrities. Tucked in a little alcove amidst these images was a screen with some chairs. On the screen was this delightful 8 minute clip of the most memorable scenes in every film imaginable, separated by genre with scores/film music accompanying. It was heaven, those 8 minutes. I felt so deliriously happy watching it, knowing at least 98% of the scenes, that I almost burst into tears! Happy tears, obviously. Appreciative tears.
If it’s one thing this museum does well, it really enunciates the beauty and hard work of film and every single thing that goes along with it. From the ancient projectors and cameras, to the sound editing/scoring, effects, editing, costumes, scenery, sets, the moving image itself, the history! Oh, the history is so wonderful! They really created an extraordinary way for everyone of any age to learn and appreciate the history of film. There’s hands on experiments, a station where kids can create their very own stop motion short, stalls that allow you to watch clips and their accompanying score, and test a different score for that scene instead (then you really appreciate the affect a score has on a film, hello Bernard Herrmann).
I don’t think I can put into words how happy this place made me. I had this crazy urge to hug everything, because I wanted to thank every object for allowing film to happen. Every person behind every object! This place has brought out my sappy self in high amounts. Overflowing amounts. Perhaps my new goal in life should be to work there. I could start a preservation exhibit! Can I copyright that idea?
Of course, the trip couldn’t be concluded without a visit to the gift shop. I found some postcards, mixed up movie lines (magnetic poetry kit), and the COOLEST mug ever that says MACGUFFIN on one side, and a definition on the reverse (for those of you who don’t know what a macguffin is (I’m shaking my head disapprovingly at you)).
