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Aramis
Illusionist
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Posted: 07-01-2008 21:17 |
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Ok I just wrote a post about seeing Bernard Billis on a variety show last night, well there was another magic act on that show and it inspired this post.
We're talking Grand Illusion here, and if you don't like that sort of stuff, well you're reading the right post. I got one of the most vivid examples of precisely what annoys me about these magic acts, namely the strange time consuming dance choreographies, and the implications of deviant sexuality that are prevalent throughout.
Don't get me wrong, I love a good looking assistant in a sexy outfit as much as the next guy. But do they need to be dressed like strippers? I'm all for sex appeal, but if the audience wants to see a stripper, there are already plenty of nightclubs to provide that service without the annoying magician dancing like an idiot and spinning boxes around. There's a point where you have to wonder if the act is a magic act or a burlesque act.
In the act I saw last night, the magician has two twin sisters as his assistants. He extensively frolicks with both the girls at different times in the act, his final pose consists of the magician standing with one of the girls' arms wrapped around his neck while the other girl is on her knees with her arms around the magician's thighs. So what is his message? What is the theme of his act? Is it intended as an endorsement of incest poligamy? What is going on in the stage magician's mind that this seems like a healthy way to present magic?
Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go untie my girlfriend.
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Sponge
Marvel
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Posted: 07-01-2008 21:55 |
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Aramis, who was the magician?
I was going to say that it sounds like the sort of act that would have been around a few decades ago when sex was used to sell everything, but then I remembered an act I saw recently from Barry and Stewart, two of Britains freshest and most original magicians. The following was from a TV magic show:
A male spectator was invited up on stage, a female assistant came on dressed in a bra and thong, removed her thong, climbed up onto a hospital trolley and "gave birth" to a live rabbit while the spectator looked on, full frontal so to speak. She was referred to throughout as "the hat".
I honestly felt pretty shocked, there was no magic whatsoever, the spectator was obviously embarassed and goodness knows what the female members of the audience were thinking. I lost respect for those guys after watching that, I really don't understand what reaction they were trying to provoke or why.
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doggylego
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Posted: 07-02-2008 01:55 |
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So that's were Rabbits come from!
Henry always told be they come from the cabbage patch and I thought Henry didn't lie.
Personally I love the Stage Magic Show I sit in oar of the props, birds (Fathered Variety), music, lighting, movement, color oh man it's all there.
Now the act Sponge talks of is a bit much and some magicians go too far with the ladies but that's defiantly to the detriment of that Magician not the Stage Magic Show as such.
Stage Magic Show's rock it's most likely the first type of magic we all remember as kids or saw on TV.
Indecently Tall Ted is looking for a female bear (Ferry Variety) assistant.
Wish we lived in Canada, you know how hard Grizzlies are to come across in Australia.
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DWood
Magician
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Posted: 07-03-2008 04:25 |
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You may want to ask Tropicalillusions , He may have a bear for you. Have a good one. D
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Glenyost
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Posted: 07-03-2008 04:45 |
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Don't know if Tropic has a bear...but he's got abig ole hairy monkey. If it's a girl monkey you could dress it up in little skimpy sexy outfit. Ain't that something to think about...................
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SiteAdmin
Mage
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Posted: 07-03-2008 05:47 |
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I think as long as the act is family-friendly, it is ok and can help the performer tell the story. There is a natural chemistry between man and woman, so it is only natural that the same chemistry carries over into a performance.
The story Sponge wrote about obviously seems like it was over the line, or made for an adult audience, much like Steve Wyrick's topless illusion show.
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tropicalillusions
Wizard
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Posted: 07-04-2008 01:46 |
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   . I went topless and was mistaken for a gorilla!. No bears at my place, although my wife is a bear to live with. does that count as a female bear?? I seen the rabbit act you guys speak of. it was crazy and DIFFERENT. I think most folks that enjoy the art of magic live are getting tired of the SEX like appeal. these days, maybe they are going for more of the arts trend, Cirque De Soleil , is top notch in this area. Very creative, I believe they are based out of Canada originally, and Canada is full of the Arts. Very creative folks those Canadians. Lots of Great acts come out of Canada. I believe it is because of Canadas support for the arts.
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cosmicplay
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Posted: 07-06-2008 00:52 |
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People forget that good magic is inherently entertaining. Al Schneider, the inventor of matrix, once made the observation that if someone puts a coin in the middle of a table and claps his hands and the coin just vanishes, people will be genuinely fascinated and entertained. They will want to see it again and ask their friends to come along.
The problem with a lot of magic is that it lacks this purity of effect. We need to bring a red box into the game, silks and magic dust from our pocket, and then the coin will vanish. So we think we need to add a bunch of stuff here to still make it somehow interesting to the viewer. The real challenge however, is to filter the 'junk' and still establish a purity of effect.
As in any art from, we can find the art that diminishes, shocks, encrouages agression, perversion, gives ego and praises stupidity. And then there is the art that lifts you, brings joy, wisdom, control and freedom. It all comes down to the simple choice of the artist. I think I know which one I would go for.
'The most beautiful experience we can have is the mysterious - the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and true science.' - A. Einstein
Last edited on 07-06-2008 00:53 by cosmicplay
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Sponge
Marvel
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Posted: 07-06-2008 13:11 |
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Well, I've sat here for days on and off trying to phrase what I want to say but the words just ain't flowing, here goes anyway....
In the example that Aramis describes it seems that the magician is off on some sort of power trip where his act portrays him as all powerful over women. I'm willing to bet though that this could potentially alienate a significant proportion of his audience, namely most women, anyone who has a twin and has heard all the "twin" cliches over and over, and anyone who has a daughter or sister. I don't understand why he would want to do this, is it really what people want to see these days? Is this why women chained themselves to railings and threw themselves under horses? Have times really changed?
Magician thinks "I am showing myself to be all powerful by degrading women and showing them to be nothing more than sex objects"; Women, and probably a significant number of men in audience think, "Oh here we go again, how unoriginal."
Maybe in Barry and Stewarts "rabbit" performance they were trying to provoke some thought about the way that women are perceived in magic, or even the way in which female nudity is perceived. It was shocking and made me feel uncomfortable, but it could be that they were making some sort of statement about the way that female nudity is seen, even when a woman is "giving birth" and therefore naked, do we see this as sexual and shocking and if so, what does this say about society's attitude towards women (in magic performance or real life) even in the 21st century?
Historically it seems that the magicians assistant has nearly always been a woman, glamourous, spangly and as scantily clad as the times would allow. Rather than reflecting changing attitudes towards women, what I would describe as "Vegas style stage magic" seems to be becoming more sexual and mysogynistic rather than less. Maybe we are just more aware and educated these days and therefore feel more shocked when we see scantily clad women being dismembered and spun around in boxes, as they nearly always have been in Vegas style stage magic performances.
Aramis, I haven't seen the performance that you describe but I'm willing to bet that the male magician was fully clothed, in contrast to his "assistants".
Andrew *Sponge frantically searches Youtube for videos of Steve Wyrick's Topless Illusion Show* Again this is something that I haven't seen, but doesn't the "topless" aspect completely overwhelm the magic? Do people go to the show to see magic or breasts? Does Steve Wyrick also perform topless in the show? Even if this is "adult" magic, is it ok to put the male magician and female assistants into dominant and passive roles respectively?
There are a few articles on the web about sexism in magic, female magic assistants and female magicians which make interesting reading:
Sexism in Magic
Derren Brown on women in magic
Women in magic who saw the men in half Isn't this sexism too?
Being the assistant is the real trick
I also came across a movie about female magic assistants called Women in Boxes, site here which is currently showing at a film festival, I can't make out whether this is on general release to the public or if magicians will be able to see it eventually.
Quote from the movie site:
"Women in Boxes is the first film ever made that uncovers the story of the Unsung Hero behind the magician. The devoted, if not masochistic Magic Assistant who distorts her body into impossible positions while the magician cuts her into pieces, stabs her incessantly, sets her on fire, crushes her, dismembers her, restores her to life with a dramatic "taa daa" and takes a bow for the credit.
Who is the woman who would subject herself to such torture, not to mention the Magician's Ego?
Heretofore sworn to secrecy, this tough yet feminine group opened their homes, hearts and lives for the filmmakers and revealed the intensity of their involvement, their indispensibility to the man in the spotlight; their back-breaking workload, and the reasons behind their devotion to this painful art....and to the men they serve."
I think that quote kinda sums up an attitude which I would like to think is outdated, sadly it seems it isn't, but it would be interesting to see the movie and see what the ladies themselves have to say about the role.
One more thing, something to think about; If you are a stage performer performing for adults, when choosing an assistant from the audience to come up on stage do you go for male or female, attractive or otherwise, or does gender and attractiveness have nothing to do with your choice but you look for something else? Do you have a preference and if so, why? I can't explain why I think this is relevant but I feel that it is.
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