No matter what you are writing about, you can probably benefit from a visit to the Museum of the Moving Image. Although some topics you come here to study might be specific to the entertainment industry, you can also gather a lot of information about related issues. For example, in addition to information on the development of television, the oral history of film, and the relationships between the major motion picture industries, you can learn about race relations, censorship, licensing, unions, the history of technology, and even patents and antitrust legislation (by studying Edison’s contributions to film-making).

The exhibits and archives would both be helpful, but in different ways. The archives will provide you with more detailed information once you have chosen a topic. The majority of the exhibit space that is devoted to the permanent collection focuses more on the process of filmmaking and less on the content of actual films. However, it is worth viewing if you are interested in using film content in your paper, because it will make you a better film critic. The exhibit traces the development of film from its start in the science of motion study to its current form in both television and movies.

The top floor of the museum concentrates on the technology used to make film and television, while the second floor concentrates on the people involved in that process. 

Also, take a tour of the permanent exhibit “Behind the Screen,” especially if you don’t know much about film or television or if you’re not sure what you’re looking for. Though there were some annoying people on my tour, the tour guide was not one of them. He was very knowledgeable and answered questions patiently and thoughtfully.

In addition to the exhibits and the archive, the museum offers several programs that might be of interest to you. Group tours can be scheduled for a minimum of ten people. If you can’t round up 9 people to form a group, don’t despair. Public tours are offered on the weekend at 2pm. Though you can’t join a school group for activities that occur during the school day, you may join any public programs for adults. These include film screenings, discussions, special tours and workshops and are worth checking out. To give you an idea: current educational programs include screenings and discussions of The Immigrant, a silent film from 1917 about an immigrant arriving in New York City, written by Charlie Chaplin; I Love Lucy: “Job Switching,” the 1952 episode where Lucy and Ethel work in a chocolate factory while Ricky and Fred attempt to do the housework; 12 Angry Men, the famous drama about the dissenting juror who challenges his peers’ guilty verdict; In the Heat of the Night, a pioneering racial drama about a black Philadelphia detective who helps a racist Southern sheriff solve a homicide of which the detective is initially accused; Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam, a film that combines news footage, period music and voiceover readings of heart-wrenching letters by American soldiers to document the Vietnam War; The Living Room Candidate, a series of presidential campaign commercials from the 1950s onward; and Bullworth, a film about a disillusioned Senator who puts his career on the line by speaking out about the corruption of the U.S. political system.

For the most up-to-date information, check out both the museum’s posting of weekly events (http://www.movingimage.us) and its posting on educational programs (http://www.movingimage.us/education/index.html). You can also find information on current exhibits (http://www.movingimage.us/site/exhibitions/index.html) on the museum’s website. The museum even keeps several online exhibits on its website, including a very interesting one on the history of presidential campaigns on television from 1952 to 2004. It includes campaign commercials that you can watch online.

The museum also has archives that you might be able to use. Although many technological artifacts are stored off-site, the majority of the papers and pictures are at the museum. You may ask the museum about the archives, but keep in mind that they are definitely not where you would start your research. If you do wind up using them, you will most likely be directed to them after completing a significant amount of preliminary research elsewhere.