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winstonwolf New user 68 Posts |
Hi Eugene,
I'd really appreciate your perspective on the future of magic. For example, mentalism is very 'trendy' at the moment - do think that will continue? Or, like fashion, is everything cyclical? Thanks so much, Winston |
beyrevra Regular user 107 Posts |
Hello Mr Burger, I will never forget this great moment when I met you and Mr Max Maven (Ostende - Tournai in belgium). You are my god! What do you think of the bizarre magic of today? This form of magic is very far away from duck-card, but is it there not today danger of mental masturbation before dream magic? Where has to stop the magic effect to leave passage to the occult message ? Are new magicians understand what's bizaar magick ?
(excuse my foreign langage ) |
Christopher Williams Inner circle Portsmouth, UK 4464 Posts |
Winston, I think it will change soo IMO. It is like fashion etc. Yo yos came in and out of fashion, leg warmers did the same, mentalism is the current thing in magic, and my prediction is the next big thing is escapology
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Eugene Burger 1939 - 2017 231 Posts |
Winston: I think it is all fashion. Remember how invisible thread was the rage some years ago yet only a few have really mastered it. Mentalism is the rage now because, in part, it SEEMS easy (and a lot less to carry around!) but actually, I am afraid mentalism is very difficult to do, to keep an audience engaged. And so it will eventually move out of fasion.
Christopher: I really hope you are wrong about escapes being the next fasion. I was young before bondage was trendy... Beyrevra: In the United States, I think Bizarre Magic is alive and slowly moving away from being stuck (as it has been for decades now) in the H. P. Lovecraft mythology and, as my friend Jeff McBride says, it is now moving "into the light." I suspect that fewer performers are doing traditional bizarre magic (that is, dark, supernatural horror stories tied to magic tricks) and more are doing story telling magic where the stories may not be horror stories at all but perhaps even inspiring stories about the human condition. |
beyrevra Regular user 107 Posts |
Thank you for your answer. In Europe the Bizarre Magic is very underground, and we are rejected by other magicians who have large difficulties to leave their spangles. The mentalists also know there this "hunting for the witches". But don't you think that these kinds of magic may find it beneficial to remain underground, which enables him to be protected from a too commercial magic and its "gadgets"? (plastic craniums)
Can we say that Bizarre Magic (Magick ?) is first a philosophy of life and a true art ? |
ELima Regular user Norway 167 Posts |
Hard to believe that getting to peoples emotions will ever be out of fashion. 'Edutainment' will never die: approaching people to understand, to enthuse, to provoke, to make people reflect, to connect, to share stories & images...no way will it ever be out outdated.
But it demands growing with people! Too often I see dragging people back....not to an historical moment that deserves reflection...but to an effect we impose. Give me the strength to sniff in the "zeitgeist" and be "one ahead". It takes genuine interest in other people. As new in this field I got my first DVD with Mr Burger this week. WOW....and I do not even like playing cards Endre
Psy.D.
www.mentalistendre.net |
Eugene Burger 1939 - 2017 231 Posts |
Endre: As you may have guessed, I LOVE playing cards! Thanks for your comment.
Beyrevra: Yes, I think being underground (whether by choice or force) can be very good -- especially something like Bizarre Magic. |
Christopher Williams Inner circle Portsmouth, UK 4464 Posts |
Lol, Eugene, I don't know what it is, its just a hunch on the escapology. Why don't you think it will be the next big thing? It could be as that is what my mind is telling me the next thing to do, though, I wouldnt be doing it as a stand alone. I was thinking about being the Escaping Mentalist!!! Fun name for a fun act. Im trying to escape out of a death defying trap whilst trying to read someones mind, I think it could be fun. Also, just want to say, LOVE MYSTERY SCHOOL!!!!
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Eugene Burger 1939 - 2017 231 Posts |
Thanks re Mystery School.
I didn't say that I don't think escapes will be the next fashion; only that I was young before bondage was trendy.... YET...for me...escapes rarely work. When Houdini did his escapes people really WONDERED if he WOULD get out. Today, after a century of realizing these guys ALWAYS get out, there isn't much theatrical tension and conflict for me. I EXPECT success. And on television this stuff, for me, is borderline stupid: if the performer had been killed or seriously hurt during the stunt, I know that the Chicago Tibune would have carried the story and the network would never let the show air (too disturbing "for younger and more sensitive viewers"). This is not to say that escapes can't be entertaining. I know that they can be. Abbi McBride does a quite wonderful Straight Jack Escape. But it is highly scripted and quite sexy to watch along with the idea of beating Houdini's 3 minute record. |
Magiguy Inner circle Seattle, WA 5467 Posts |
On the subject of Mystery School, is there any type of follow up planned? It would be a terrific concept for a monthly or quarterly publication, as well.
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Eugene Burger 1939 - 2017 231 Posts |
Jeff already has the on-line Magic Arts Journal to which I contribute regularly. It's free on his site: http://www.mcbridemagic.com.
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Brian J. Hatcher New user Charleston WV 52 Posts |
Quote:
On 2005-12-20 21:07, Eugene Burger wrote: Which is ironic, knowing that there are magicians who have gotten seriously hurt or killed doing dangerous escapes. But I believe you're right that escapes don't usually work on TV if it's a taped broadcast. It has to be live. And somehow you have to give the audience the impression that something has legitimately gone wrong during the performance, and you can’t go back on it with a “just kidding” at the end. The two best modern examples of this are Darren Brown's Russian Roulette and Lance Burton's escape from being tied to a roller coaster track (which was taped, but I found very dramatic when I saw how close the coaster car came to hitting Lance before he jumped off the track). I'm not sure if escapes are truly the future of magic, but I do know what the theme is for the next Inner Circle of Bizarre Magick's Gathering: "Escape into Bizarre Magick". Hmmm...
Maior Cogitatio Magiam Maiorem Facit
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Eugene Burger 1939 - 2017 231 Posts |
Of course, I was overstating the case (if only slightly!). I completely agree with you about Derren's and Lance's escapes still having great power. I've probably seen Lance's show 20 since the film of the Roller Coaster has been in, and the audiences invariably are SPELLBOUND by it -- and the final shot of him jumping off. It indeed looks like he came within inches of cutting his leg off!
I agree with you that escapes work much better in person than on television for the reasons we've both mentioned. And, yes, of course, escapes CAN work on television (your two examples were perfect to show this!) but, for me, it RARELY happens. Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts. |
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