Confessions of a Heckler

[UnholyGodn]

I am not a magician. My interest in magic stems from my inability to just sit back and be fooled, I must know the answer. Call it obsessive, call it whatever you like, but this is my reasoning behind my interest in magic. It is so diverse in it mixture of Showmanship, Misdirection, Sleight of Hand, Psychology, or anything else stolen from the opening disclaimer of a Derren Brown show. It intrigues me, and for this I hold magic in high regard as a form of entertainment and as an art. I will admit to learning many magic secrets for no reason than to fuel my curiosity, I have little to no intention to ever perform magic since I lack the determination to ever perform it to the level that magic should be performed. The problem in this world is not Hecklers like myself, looking to absolve their curiosity, but the people that plague the community by performing magic simply to impress others rather than to entertain them.

I advocate so strongly against the problem of YouTube on the magic community because people looking up how to do magic tricks online are not your problem. If I want to waste my time and occasionally money to learn secrets that I will do nothing than ease my own mind, then what does it matter? If I am faced with someone who truly appreciates magic, even if their performance is terrible, I will not heckle them. If someone sees me with me with a deck of cards and goes “let me show you a trick” which is always that trick where you have the 7 of one card and hearts of another to guess your card, or the 3 rows of 7, or the one where you peak the bottom of the deck, I will make no attempt to hide my disdain for the trick and abruptly interrupt it with the secret. It is not because I have seen each trick a few thousand times, but that they are simply trying to do it to show they know something others don’t.

The problem with that mentality is it gets greatly disturbed when people like myself actually do know the secret. If you cannot perform magic with the audience knowing the secret, then you just aren’t doing it properly. I have the greatest respect for magicians, especially Derren Brown, who is not only a great at the mind games he plays (He hates the term Mentalist so I won’t call it that out of respect ) but is a highly talented at sleight of hand. What I love about Derren Brown that puts him above other magicians in my mind is the fact he not only puts the show first (Like the likes of Criss Angel) but follows a strict guideline to keep from making his art meaningless such as his refusal to use stooges in his work. His clever meshes of hiding techniques under other techniques leave everyone always guessing, never knowing how a trick is done, and even if they know, his character just sells the trick splendidly anyway.

Recent House episode had House on the side that “Magic is stupid if you don’t know the secret” and the magician’s side was that “Magic wasn’t magical if you knew the secret”. The fact is, magic is a balance between the two. Magic is not magic because of the secrets, magic is magic because of the entertainment. Some people love to be in disbelief, they love not knowing, other people love knowing. Magic can accommodate both sorts of audiences if the magician can properly entertain his audience. It’s not about how many tricks you know, or how many difficult slights you know, it’s about putting on a good show. While this can be difficult with ‘exposed’ tricks, I think you will find that even highly exposed tricks such as those I mentioned are still rather unknown, so exposure such as YouTube is hardly a problem. With the right performance, anything can be magic, secret or not, it’s about the entertainment not the ‘underground’.

 

[AntonGant]

I agree.

Damn. For one second I thought I was you. We share points. This is also why I started my interest in magic, I was just curious.

I, too, would not call myself a magician. If I'm showing something I in stead of calling it magic I just call it luck like I don't know what's happening.

I'm also finding it strange that I am willing to pay for expensive books and dvd's, using hours a day perfecting something, when I'm not actually going to perfom it. I would buy a book because of one sleight but I will hide the book or lie about where I got it from, if my friends saw it.

It's weird.
But I'll still say that I do respect the magic (the sleights). I'm really perfecting the moves.
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[Tyler Johnson]

I Agree.

I have to say, I also agree with everything you said. I am a magician, not just some curious person. It will interest you that I actually ran an experiment along the lines of your post. During a walk-around session at a party, I decided that I would perform for one person, with no showmanship, just the trick. Then I would perform for one person, with all my showmanship, not just the trick. The results were interesting. I definitely got a way better reaction from the second person I performed for. When I had no showmanship and just the trick the guy I performed it for just looked at me and said, "That's cool man.", then walked away. The second person I performed for, after all my showmanship, was speechless. He even took me aside and said, "That was amazing. I have to tell you, that really looked amazing."

I have to also agree with you on the reason for us magicians performing. It shouldn't be to "impress" someone, it should be to entertain. That's the aspect I love of it. The feeling that I just made someones day, that they're amazed and filled with wonder. It's great to know that you've actually given something to someone!

But anyway, even though you aren't a magician, great post. All beginners should read this and ask themselves why they are getting into this wonderful art. Is it to impress people, or to entertain them?

 

[arcangeld]

Magic is show business, show business is entertainment.

Sometimes, one forgets. I do not regard you as a heckler.
Much like film, music, paintings, fashion.. these are the common regarded forms of art. Each has their own respected critics. Why not magic? So regard yourself as a critic of our art.

I do agree with the points that some people with not enough heart and passion, has intentions just to merely pick up that cute chick at that bar.

But when one truly appreciates this form of art. The intention is not to merely show off, confuse and trick the spectator. Instead of showing off, think entertain, instead of confuse, think to transport the audience into a world of mystery and fiction, and not just merely trick the spectator, but to bring them to a state of amazement, much like a child and a beautiful butterfly so should the audience and their entertainer.

The exposure epidemic is still bad in my opinion though, as it breeds those shallow 'magicians' who as said above, just does to impress and boost ones ego.

But my advice is instead of confronting and 'heckle' the magician while he is in the middle of (albeit overused) effect. Right after he 'performs' pull him aside and tell him what was wrong with his performance and all that jazz. Who knows, they might begin to actually see this artform as it is and make an effort to improve.

Never discourage the younger ones.
Confucius says:- To be old and wise, one must be young and stupid.

 

[UnholyGodn]

These people are not magicians, they are laymen that have learned a secret. I have never heckled someone that actually shows a hint of understanding or respect for the magic he is performing. I see people that perform magic without such regard not as magicians but as laymen. If I were to pull such a person aside and say "How about trying such and such" they would not consider it because they don't want to be a magician, they just want to impress people with as little effort as possible that is why they only perform such basic maneouvers. You can tell immediately if someone is showing something to impress you, or if they are trying to entertain you. Unfortunately, it's very often the former rather than the latter.

 

[arcangeld]

Ah, here I stand corrected. Well I regard you as a white-hat-heckler then. Keep on fighting the good fight. And do help beginner magicians if you do see them.