David Blaine does have an odd character. That is what help him get popular. He used a different style. Remember when rap songs came out. Most people hated it. Now it made a lot of people popular. There are an unlimited amount of styles in this world. Don't copy or blame anyone else. Put more time into finding out what will make you popular before someone else takes that position.

I have absolutely no doubt King StarDog came up with the term "guerrilla magic" on his own.
So what if it's been around and in use for years?
Why jump all over somebody for independently coming up with something that is new, at least to them?
This happens all the time in magic; thus the endless navel-gazing over who is credited with what.
Why bother?
To come up with something on your own, even if it has appeared elsewhere, is still showing real creative work.
Let's encourage that sort of thing!

Coming up with something that is unknown to you yet has already been done is a very common thing. When bright people put their time and creativity into thinking about a certain subject it has to happen.
Ronnie

"Guerrila","Gorrila","Street","Shock"....!

Call it what you want but David Blaine is still way cool in my book!

Just my theory, DB may be referred to as a "Street Magician" due to his "NYC Street Culture" persona, not his Magic approach. If you don't know what "NYC Street Culture" is, look at rap stars. If you don't like rap stars, then I know exactly why you wouldn't find DB cool!

Well, to each his own.

If DB is not a "street magician" then why are we discussing this in the "street magic" forum? You know what? The guy is a magician, good, bad or indifferent. He performs magic, on the streets and off, I will never have a television special of my own. I'm happy for him and his success, but I don't feel we need to carry this on, and on and on and on. This is a "street magic" forum, full of posts about DB, who everyone says is not a street magician. Can we move this somewhere else?
the other vinny

One last parting shot before I leave this discussion: Always remember when I say
"look at you" I am really saying "don't look at me."

I think monkeying around with guerilla magic originated in the Banana Republic. Some day I hope to swing by there.

Pakar Ilusi says: ". . . , DB may be referred to as a "Street Magician" due to his "NYC Street Culture" persona . . . "

He can be referred to any way you want; that still doesn't make him a street magician!

If your cat has kittens in the garage, that doesn't make them cars!

vinnie...i wish i would never hear about that guy here again....i'm sick of him....really....but the kiddies insist on talking about him...the "new" guys...

koz

So here's what it boils down to:

Some of us really like Blaine and some of us don't. In the end, it doesn't much matter. What matters is, do YOUR audiences like YOU? That is up to you--that is your responsibility to the art. You are certainly entitled to your opinion about DB, but you should be MUCH more concerned with your audiences' opinion of YOU! Criticizing/defending Blaine won't help with THAT!

I'm on Scott's side.

Hey Scott, Why are those members critizing Dave Blaine?

I personally do not care for him myself. However, he is certainly successful in what he does. If I don't want to watch him, I can turn the channel or turn off the TV.

I think it is wrong to emulate him, as his "style" probably wouldn't work for most, just as most comedians would bomb emulating Don Rickles.

Having said that, I think it equally wrong to bash him because you don't like him or agree with him, particularly when he is not here to defend himself.

I am sure that for every performer at the Magic Café, there would be those who, upon seeing him perform, would dislike him, as well as those who would like him. But in the end, as I said, it just doesn't matter. Do your audiences like you? That's what's important!

I agree with you Scott!

Btw, Peter, what about the fact that DB performs on the streets? It's just for TV, that's all!
Well technically, not on the streets, more like the sidewalk!

I agree with both Peter and Scott. as for another thing.... lol

from another post, "David Blaine...

People don't like his style because he is up front and in your face.

I will keep this short. David Blaine does something that not many magicians do. He does not take away from the magic.

Jokes are fine, but are you a joke man or a magician? "

1. I don't like his style because I just don't like it lol...so stop putting words in everyones mouths

2. I make jokes because its how I entertain.. magician or joke man? duh. get a life. I can see that your audiences aren't laughing and having a good time when you perform. Man.

3. Think before you speak

Great points Scott!

Personally, I would rather watch paint dry than watch Blaine, but I’m a magician. His show is not geared to ‘me’.

He does however appeal to the majority of his chosen demographic. THEY think he is a good magician and that is what really counts when it comes down to brass tacks. He has also improved MY bottom line financially and I do a comedy magic show. I am nothing like Blaine. I have also heard very little negative feed back from laypeople about Blaine. Most laypeople found his special impressive.

He has not embarrassed me with the public, he has improved my client list, and he has been keeping the public interested in magic for several years now. What more should I expect from a ‘brother’ magician?

I can name 100 guys who can do flawless, heavy-handed technical work, and none of them has ever made my phone ring when they’ve been on TV.

Who cares what I think of Blaine’s double lift or whatever. The guy has been good for my business. I’d buy him dinner any day of the week for that.

Best,

Dan-

But, he is not a 'street magician'

Without even discussing Blaine's skills as a magician, I think we should all recognize that his "Street Magic" was a watershed event in bringing close up magic to television. Consider televised magic before Blaine. It was generally stage and parlor/nightclub illusions, with a strong bias toward grand illusion. Why? Because it is colorful and visually exciting -- absolute musts for television.

Of course, there were pre-Blaine attempts at televising close up magic. I remember Slydini on the Ed Sullivan Show and on The Tonight Show, but these segments were almost as static as the "talking head" newscast. And the attempts at close up in the World's Greatest Magic shows seemed stilted and staged. They just weren't convincing to viewers.

In fact, today I think that most laypersons think that magic is in some gimmicked device (a fallout of the prevalence of grand illusion and magic boxes on TV). And note that for those illusions, the laypersons' perception is right -- the "trick" IS in the box.

What Blaine managed to do is bring the immediacy of close up magic (which we all love) to television. How does he do this? The TV programs focus on the audience and their reactions (this is probably why Blaine adopts a more passive role -- the television viewer is able to experience the magic through the non-professional spectators captured on the video tape). I also strongly suspect that the choices of which segments to run in the program are not selected by how well Blaine performed a particular effect, but by how strongly the spectators reacted to it.

Locating the programs on the street was NOT to show that Blaine was a street performer. Rather, it was to create the impression that the spectators were not actors (as they were in WGM) and that there was no "funny business" with the cameras. I think that this appraoch was extremely effective for laypersons.

Please understand that I do not mean to denigrate the skills of stage and platform performers, or, for that matter, the close up performances on WGM, nor do I believe that there was no camera trickery in the Blaine programs. And I do not necessarily think that Blaine is the most skillful magician I have ever seen. But he has created new interest in a form of magic that most laypersons have never seen, and perhaps has opened up new horizons for performers.

So, is it any wonder the "new kids on the block" want to emulate Blaine? He is performing close up magic in a way that many of those new kids had never seen before. I would suggest that Blaine is likely responsible for many more newcomers to magic than all of those "teach-a-trick" segments on all other magic programs combined.

Blaine is a master of self promotion. He got his TV gig before he even had material. I have an aquaintence that was hired for his first special to teach him tricks for the show and they had to be simple enough for Blaine to do. But hey, the guy has millions and I don't even own my own house. He's doing SOMETHING right.