This is a tough topic. I think there is greater exposure on the web then any book would have. The layman would rather do a free search via google then go buy a book. It's a shame that a good amount of tricks have been exposed via the net but we as magicians are still safe. I can't remember who said it in the earlier posts but we need to make our material stronger or add a twist of originality to it. Magic should be fun and entertaining even if the method is known, most will be impressed by the skill and sleight of hand. A great example with that is the cups and balls routine. Most people know how it's done but still love to watch it. There are many new tricks, methods, routines out there now that have not been exposed and we can try to keep those methods safe, but we never really know so it is a chance we take. I should some folks at my apt complex office a few tricks and ended with DG's Fraud. That blew them away... One of the ladies went right to the PC and started searching for about an hour or so but found nothing, came close but nothing. I went back to the office a few days later and she said she kept searching and found where you could buy the DVD for 30.00 and was worried that she had to know that bad that she would buy it and then spread the word. But she stated I'm not going to pay 30.00 to figure it out. So she excepted it and moved on. Unless you are really into it they are not going to pay to find out.

Honestly... hopefully this isn't going off topic, but I feel what has hurt magicians more so these days than exposure is reputation. The word magic, or magician seems played out and associated with kids and or someone with a Top Hat and colorful bowtie being obnoxious and some people roll their eyes at the thought of watching a "magic trick" When we all know those that seem indifferent about it or think a trick could be silly... any of us could easy show them something that would totally amaze them. I think we as magicians need to focus on bringing the cool back in magic, it can and will happen. Exposure we cannot stop, with the Internet it will always be there. We can try to help minimize it, but can't stop it.

Have a great day all!

Luke

For fear of backlash, let me also say that for all the good the publicity of Blaine, Angel and the others have brought, there is a big downside too.

These days, people hear "magician" and they think we're going to skewer ourselves with meathooks and hang from helicopters. My daughter loves magic. We do stuff together all the time. But when it's on TV, I have to record it and screen it before I'll let her watch it - there's too much "stunt-ism" in magic these days, not real "conjuring". Last thing I want my kid seeing is Blaine eating some small snake and making it come out his belly button.

Just My Humble Opinion, but I'd rather see artistic performances of skill, psychology and perception. These other may have origins in altering perception of reality, but that's where the similarity ends. I think they've brought magic back into the spotlight, but in a lot of ways, with a bad connotation... (My kid's friends wanna see a trick, and the parent says to me, "you're not going to make a thread come out of your eye, are you? I don't want my kids getting any stupid ideas...") Makes me feel lousy about the art I love...

If your entire repetoire is comprised of effects that are either exposed on television or the internet...you are not growing and studying enough as a magician.

You missed the point of my post. It's not *MY* repertoire that is is the problem. Heck; I'll open in a social setting with an Ambitious Card, Color Monte, Thought of Card, or just make a coin come out of a kid's ear to break the ice. But...

It is the PERCEPTION OF MAGICIANS due to the Blaine/Angel "genre" of "new magicians" that is the problem. People who know me and have seen my stuff - no problem. It is the David/Criss style of magic "stunt-ism" to (Mind)freak people out that make them not want to trust you unless they already know you.

It is when others hear you're a magician, they have this preconceived notion based on the Blaine/Angel stuff that make them wary of you.

And what do you feel is this 'perception' of magicians? Untrustworthy? That's been around long before Blaingel. So, what is it? Stunts? Whether you like it or not, laypeople are still confused whether they label that as magic or not.

To be honest, Daver, my post wasn't directed at you more as it was directed at people who fear exposure of methods used by the aforementioned parties...at least, that was what I had read the topic to be about.

Nothing to do with exposure at all. The perception thing is freak-out or gross-out magic. A lot of parents don't want their kid getting ideas of eating snakes or putting meathooks in their bodies, and candidly, a lot of friends of mine are just plain disgusted by some of the "can you top this" freak out stuff.

It's the perception of "will I puke if you ahow me something" is where I'm concerned, and that, IMHO, is where Blaine/Angel/et al are taking it. I'm not saying we should all stick to a topsy turvy bottle, and there's a fine line between some of this freak/gross-out genre and needle thru arm, but it used to be "oh, you're gonna show me a card/coin trick" and now it's a preconceived notiong of "am I gonna lose my lunch if I let you show me something, or is it something I would never want my kids to see"....

Now, even though exposure may be harming magic a bit, I pretty much became a magician through David Blaine exposure sites. Then, once I started learning more about magic, I've relied less and less on exposure in favor of discussion of presentation and theory and learning from books. Once in a while there will be a person who becomes a good magician through this, so don't always categorize this as definately "bad"

Also, probably 95% of laymen don't care about this, so we should just make our magic "harder, better, faster, stronger"

Burn them, they're witches!

Just a thought: How many lay folk actually take time to read a magic book to learn how we do it? Mostly, they really don't care since the ones who are worried about how we do it already have a preconceived idea. And lets face it, most of our stuff can be figured out by a reasonably intelligent person given enough time and desire to figure. Our goal is not to trick so much as to entertain. Make your magic entertaining and methods don't cross the spec's mind.


Sammy the Kid

What a waste of time. Ignore him and he'll go away. Hype him and he get's exposure, which equels sales, which increases demand, which begets more sales and more exposure. Treat it like High School Math; you didn't forget it by thinking about it all the time. Anyone who studies marketing knows that all you need is people talking about you... it doesn't mater if it is good or bad, as long as people talk.

Magic exposure has been around ever since the temple priests stopped murdering the guys who gave away THEIR secrets. We cannot stop it (we don't have that particular option open to us), we can only find ways to minimize it's impact on us...

One of the more recent types of exposure I've encountered is what I call "exposure after the fact". That's where I'll do a trick for someone who then gets on youtube to try to find out what I did and how I did it.

Both people who did *that* earned a new place on my "I'm-Not-Doing-Magic-For-This-Jerk-Anymore" list. It's a sad but merciful short list ...

Don't sweat exposure too much, hide your methods deep within your presentation and the gilpins will never see through your magic!