Ok ... this is a new one for me. Just got off the phone with a family that was at one of my recent shows. I chose a young black child to help out with the Sword thru Neck effect and apparently it was a poor choice. I'm always very careful about who I select and this young boy was the right age to help with this routine. I always try to be fair and select children of all ages and all races ... I'm very aware of that. This family was nice enough to bring to my attention that locking stocks around the child's neck had reminded them of slavery ... yes, slavery.

I've been doing this for over 30 years ... and this never had a problem. Of course I'm not trying to offend anyone but, this seems a bit much in this day and age. Your thoughts?

Steve

It takes all kinds.
The Pariadolia Effect is along a similar vein. (But I forget the exact name of this exact mental state)
People look for what they want to see in a situation then use it to support preconceived notions.
Some say that egocentric people do this too.

Don't you just love it??

Like with any point of resistance, my favorite technique is to embrace the enemy's weapon and appropriate it for my own use. In other words, hit it head on and mention it before anyone else has a chance to. This takes the steam right out of their argument before it ever has a chance to build.

I'm sure after 30 years you probably have a pretty well-defined presentation, so let's assume it's me performing the trick (which I don't, BTW). If I suspected that this might be an issue, or if I had been "educated" like you were to the fact that it could be an issue, I might introduce it something like this... (and this is strictly off the top of my head).

"As you will notice, these stocks are designed to be locked around someone's neck. To some, it may remind them of the Spanish Inquisition. To others, it may remind them of tales about the Tower of London, or the punishment pillories in Colonial America, or of slavery, or of the stupidity of college... But, most people say it reminds them of the crazy stuff that magician Michael Baker, would do! Bwa-ha-ha-haaaaa!!!"

OK, so this is just an example, but it shows how the technique works. Now, for anyone to raise a flag on the slavery card, they're now in a position where they'd also have to defend those affected by the Inquisition, the six wives of Henry VIII, Salem witches, and Animal House.

Very well thought through Michael. Patter means so much to an effect.

Chezaday, chalk it up to experience. Don't use chains, ropes, handcuffs, guillotines or hand choppers either. Where is this country going????? We are entertainers, people!!

Is it any surprise in a world in which every moment has to be captured with a 'selfie' , that everyone sees things from their own perspective?
That is why talk radio and television are really no longer really about 'broadcasting'... everyone wants their viewing and listening to reflect their preconceived point of view. Call in narrow-casting. No one wants to consider the notion that it isn't 'All About Me'!

Even though this is way out in left field, a parent calling trying to pass their child's beliefs on to someone else is very strange. To bad you were hit with such a parenting responsibility and not prepared, to handle such an extreme telephone conversation. Was it the party that hired you (?) Or just a kid in attendance.

I would have put the job on parenting back on the caller, with something like, how would a child be able to make such a comparison, what have you taught the child about slavery. I hear they no longer teach American and World history any longer in school, but I am curious about your child's education on such historic and significant events.

I would then make some comment like, I am sure, seeing that you are a concerned parent, you can explain how the child cross referenced his thinking, which had nothing to do with slavery or punishment, but purely being able to witness a rare magical trick, for entertainment purposes.

I suggest you politely tell the person to talk the child and explain how stocks were used. Not being a historian, I believe it was a form of punishment for all law breakers that came over from Europe.

Then inform the parent that the Neck Brace (not to be confused with a punishment stock) is a magical prop to prevent harm to the person that wears it. It creates a mystical field or barrier so the sword can pass through a person's neck without harm. It is not my invention, but a device created many centuries ago by another very famous magician. I have entertained hundreds of audiences with it over the years and thought this group would enjoy seeing the device at work. To be honest, I have no idea how it works. I don't think it is a truth determinate or anything like that, as no one has ever been hurt in any way, to my knowledge.

Thank you for calling, and I am sure you can have a one on one with your child and explain the difference the him.

It may be good to take a note from magicians that live their life as magicians. When a person calls concerning magic, they are calling you because they are calling a magician, not an ordinary person. So talking to them as the persona you advertise is the best way interact with such people.

Thanks for posting, as I never thought to call the stock a "Neck Brace", I usually don't refer to it at all. I usually just say we have this "thingy" that goes on the front and this other "thingy" that goes on the back. I usually point up the sword only, and go from their.

Funny, they thought plunging a sword through a child's neck was of no concern, but only referred to the stock as punishment used in slavery.

Beware, all Chain Escape and Handcuff Artist, this person will most likely be calling you next.

Normally - using a head chopper, I say
This is in case you don't do your homework. I'm leaving it in the principals office....

That seems to cover it. Then any issue becomes a 3rd person issue.


What are the most famous illusions if you ask a lay person
Sawing, floating, cutting something off, pulling a rabbit, vanishing person,
Take those away and you have street magic

That didn't come out right

Hot Button issue at the moment. Pity they had to play that 'card'... but it's all about perceptions.
And pendulums.

Looking at this from a slightly different perspective and putting aside the whole PC issue...

The only reason the "stocks" look the way they do is because that's how somebody decided to design them many years ago. It may have been convenience, or money, or the patter used at the time, or maybe even just a lack of imagination. I have a Sword thru Neck I bought a million years ago, and I always wondered why the thing had to be square. I actually considered cutting it into a different shape just for looks (this was in the late 60's, LOOOONG before the PC craze) and to make it look more like a way to guide the sword thru the spectator's neck. My "story" had nothing to do with torture or stabbing somebody, so the "collar" idea would have worked fine.

Again, going off on a tangent, I think sometimes we tend to take the design of magic props for granted.

BTW, Michael, I love your idea about how to introduce the effect, and the reasoning behind it.

I"m way ahead of you George, I trimmed the stocks down by cutting the corners at a 45 degree angle. As a result the stocks are in the shape of an octagon ... and obviously that made no difference.

Steve

Steve,

I hate that you had to deal with this. However, there are some people who bring their own agenda to any situation. Unfortunately you found one. Please don't let it keep a good man down. You are a great entertainer.

Bob

I really wouldn't worry about it. It appears to be the client's issue and has nothing to do with your presentation. If you got this reaction every time you performed this trick, or even a quarter of the time you did it then yes, I would seriously think about adjusting the script. But since it's a one time deal there's no reason I can see to waste time and resources to make it more "P.C."

I've been doing this trick for over thirty years and have only had one time where someone had an issue with it. They came backstage to tell me that they thought that I had been too abusive to the woman I had chosen as my volunteer and they disapproved of what they felt was inappropriate sexual innuendo in the routine. I told them that I was sorry they hadn't enjoyed my performance but since they were the only people ever to complain about my performance in the (at that time) twenty years I had been presenting it I wasn't about to alter my presentation.

Well, Steve, in that case I'm going to agree with everyone else here. You've been doing this for 30 years and this is the first time it's come up. Don't worry about it. It was bound to happen at some point. May you go another 30 years without it coming up again.

I had a mother complain about the Foo Can, That her son was humiliated because he had to stand with a can on his head
I did the same as Payne.
Said I, "I've been doing this for over 5000 shows, since the late 60s, over 40 years... and you are the only person to ever complain. If 4,999 people like something and one does not then I tend to believe there is something wrong with the one... Perhaps you should take your boy to a therapist, since a can of water seems to be a traumatic experience... at 5 years of age... and maybe you can sit-in on the sessions because I think you might learn a lot yourself" (walked away)

The client took me aside and thanked me because that kid was a real complainer and they didn't even want him at the party.

Sometimes you have to stand-up for whats right not a perception or the Hot Button, of the day.

I'm not losing any sleep over it ... and of course everyone is hypersensitive right now about everything. I'm very careful about choosing my volunteers for each effect. Now I will have to consider my selection in the future ... but, I won't cut it from the show.

Steve

BRAVO for you Jay. I think a lot of these kid's problems are indeed brought on by over protective parents that have lost touch with reality.

I'm really weary of the hyper sensitive people right now. They need to get a life. Let the kids be kids, laugh, have fun and grow up as they will. Seems to to have worked the old way a lot better than all these new expert's ideas. I don't remember all the violence, attention disorders ( really?), and race issues, causing problems like they are now. Kids learn what they are taught for the most part.

Steve........now we have to talk about the Twinkies........they are not just good for kids. .....you should throw out prunes to them. And give a few to the parents....that way they will not be full of so much S***.

Offer to do it without the stocks round the neck, a bit messy though.

Yup.

No pun intended....