The Great Experiment

The Great Experiment is a black-and-white observational documentary directed by Stephen Maing and Eric Daniel Metzgar, filmed across the United States (and briefly Mexico) over four pivotal years from 2017 to 2021. The title derives from George Washington's description of American democracy as 'our last great experiment.' Forgoing traditional talking-head interviews, the film instead immerses the viewer in the unmediated daily texture of American political life during Donald Trump's first term and the COVID-19 pandemic. The directors juxtapose scenes of acute political tension with quieter, intimate portraits of ordinary Americans navigating work, faith, and daily survival. Specific sequences include: footage from political rallies featuring unconventional participants such as gay Trump supporters; a confrontation between supporters of Confederate monuments and a Black activist; a 'Gun Church' religious gathering; Civil War reenactors; protest aftermath in the wake of George Floyd's killing in May 2020, including burning vehicles; and footage from the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol. The film's kaleidoscopic structure spans the full political spectrum, resisting easy characterization of any side, and asks the central question of what holds a people together when the shared story they tell about themselves begins to fracture. It concludes on a quietly hopeful note: a Mexican immigrant's U.S. citizenship ceremony, during which a judge speaks about immigration and national prosperity — framing the democratic experiment as ongoing and unresolved rather than failed. The film runs approximately 100 minutes and had its world premiere at the True/False Film Festival in March 2026, receiving a Special Mention at CPH:DOX.

Sources: Web search (Deadline, Vox Magazine), Stephen Maing director website (stephenmaing.com)