An “Eureka” epiphany moment

I woke up this morning and was standing in front of the misty bathroom mirror, half awake and using my new electric toothbrush when I had a sudden epiphany.

It was an “EUREKA” moment for me, as the rest of me chased my excited brain which had grasped a wrangled, twisting piece of far out logic …which I think came up because I recalled Matthew talking to me last night about how some magicians have “a lack of balls” when they perform.

It’s all about Music, Magic and CSI.

Okay, okay, bear with me as I ramble. The thing is, everyone knows that there’s been television shows on good ole detective/ crime fighters since anyone can remember. When I was a kid in the 90s I recall that there was an entire “Law & Order” franchise, with their “Special Victims Unit” being my fave.

Then came the early millennium which had the very quirky family favorite “Monk” and that was a huge hit because of its main star, and of course after that Hollywood came up with the very awesome “CSI” which had the incredibly brilliant and yummy Gil Grissom (my major CRUSH factor all the way till he left the show) and team.

And now, every crime series on TV wants to be a CSI. I’m not talking about the CSI: NY & CSI: Miami spin-offs obviously, but other series of a similar genre. The editing style, pacing, special effects, etc… the works!

That’s because CSI was something refreshingly different and became a huge (seemingly) overnight success as it appealed to the masses. It was a palatable change that came at a right time, which people gleefully accepted – much so like Obama *wink*

But anyways. This got me thinking about why most magicians still stay stuck at a really old fashioned “olden days” era of the performing art, and are so very reluctant to change and adapt and evolve, to be more relevant to today’s discerning audience. They still choose to perform “classics” from the days of old, though nowhere as skillful as the legends who created them and have since passed on.

Reading big online magic forums which are visited by thousands of magicians around the world daily, a very common (and disturbing) trend can be seen.

Commercially successful magicians with mainstream success always get ripped apart to shreds by their peers on these online discussion boards, which usually see these vocal netizens hiding behind an avatar. It’s funny but more often then not if/when you meet these guys in person, they’re a lot meekier than their savage online personalities.

David Copperfield was huge in the 90s, when theatrical grand illusions were the rage, but at that time  he was actually hated by jealous peers who were very bitter about Copperfield’s incredible career milestones and clever business sense. An extremely negative picture was painted of him, something very different from the suave dashing man Copperfield portrayed.

Then came David Blaine and the uber urban “street magic” regime in the early part of this millennium. Magicians mainly from the USA, Blaine’s own county, openly dissed his style and many held strong opposing views about everything the guy did – from his dressing, to his performance style, his sleights, his script, his choice of endurance/ escape stunts, his stare, his slur… everything!

Online, many old school folks angrily shared that they were greatly upset about the “bastardization” of their beloved classic close-up magic into this ungodly “street magic” genre, and how Blaine was apologetically decked out in everyday street jeans and t-shirts instead of a tuxedo. All that despite the guy single-handedly bringing magic back to mainstream pop culture!

Copperfield’s name was then brought up by many magicians online, and polite niceties were said about him, though the age of big  flashy Vegas stage shows were losing their glamour to the urban rage of this new genre of TV magic, all in comparison to the “evil spawn of street magic” which was David Blaine *wry grin*

Like a powerful beast released, Criss Angel burst into the scene a little while after, bringing magic to a brand new high, with his extremely visual style of illusions and dark goth make-up. It was several notches up from where Blaine left us, and no one had ever seen a magician like Criss Angel before and the man truly redefined magic to where it is today.

Despite re-energizing and modernising the art which had gotta lull, hordes of magicians started berating Criss Angel for the use of camera tricks, video editing, planted stooges, irresponsible acts and presentations, being a Satanist, an egoistic bad boy… you get the drift. I think what Copperfield & Blaine got, Criss Angel received double. Maybe even triple.

When the award-winning illusionist later got his permanent illusion show in Vegas at the Luxor with Cirque du Soleil, countless magicians who seemed to make it their personal mission to hate him, started predicting his downfall especially when “Believe” started off to a rocky start (like most long running ‘live’ productions do) before it gained momentum.

I guess magic is an art that still isn’t as evolved as music, and may never be… because of the mindset of the majority involved in it. I’m not referring to magic enthusiasts who regard the art as a hobby, but folks who apire to be professionals or say that they are.

Not many dare to be a snazzy “CSI”. Most prefer to stick to being a “Monk” simply because they’re comfortable and it did work back then, so why change something that isn’t broken right?

There’s absolutely nothing wrong in that of course, but people like that allow themselves to be left behind. They get dated. And may sadly make up plenty of reasoning and excuses for themselves, in turn slime-balling the rare few who dare to be different and attempt breaking glass ceilings in their reach for new heights.

I obviously can’t say this is the absolute truth for  everyone who’s slimed commercially successful mainstream magicians like Copperfield, Blaine & Angel… but lay people looking in may just shrug it off as these guys being mighty jealous of their success, though they don’t dare (or maybe can’t) carve  a niche for themselves.

While I do look up to several magic greats (Dutch illusionist Hans Klok, for instance), I also take inspiration from musicians like Madonna. She’s a diva in her own right, no one questions her technical skills, everyone is awed by her showmanship, but what I love about her… is the woman’s staying power.

She’s been around for a very long time in an industry which is very fickle and unforgiving. But Madonna is an ever changing, adaptable chameleon who keeps ahead at the game of staying relevant to the masses. The woman leads the pack and stays on top.

At the beginning, many critics dismissed her as a mere flash in the pan… her wild antics were unheard of in those days… but she was extremely marketable and people wanted more of her. She wasn’t the best vocal talent, but the woman had pizazz that no one else has.

Madonna, as you know it, inspired a whole generation of new singers who realised how important it is to truly stand out and be noticed – no one wants a cookie cutter. What makes you special? How can you position yourself and radiate, despite the others who have been around for longer?

Britney Spears for instance, is a great example of a success story. I’m talking about her break out, not her break down. And the girl’s been working real hard. True, she’s not as vocally talented or technically sound like her peer,  vocal powerhouse Christina Aguilera, but she’s definitely the more successful of the two. She knew how to work what she had to her advantage, and that’s show business. Sex sells, but smuttiness doesn’t!

So back to magicians.

Copperfield, Blaine, Angel have inspired many… in fact, if you look at YouTube, you’d find many illusionists still who copy Copperfield’s dressing (you know, the blue half buttoned long sleeve shirt over a white undershirt and dark slacks) and practically perform the illusions he did in the 90s. The style and music worked for Copperfield back then in the 90s but that’s almost 2 decades ago. I don’t know if they’re aware how cheesy they look, or if they think audience love it because they expect to see such staples.

Would you want to watch a blockbuster hit movie remade into something with a far smaller budget acted by a bunch of unknowns who aren’t as polished as the celebrity actors in the original which had absolute star power?

You get my drift.

Street style magicians like Blaine & Angel in juicing up the industry, created a whole generation of young magicians who idolized their work… which had some wannabes doing magic on YouTube. I’ve seen a couple of decent ones, but there’s also some god awful videos which have blatant video edits and jump cuts, and tons of copied “bad boy” attitude. LOL.

So that completely sets them up as industry leaders… Angel definitely more so than Blaine, if you see the rage of his clones on YouTube who’ve totally ripped off his music, dressing, magic style, video editing and the works

But yes. You see, these people COPY instead of being ORIGINAL. Why do magicians do that? I know if you watched The Prestige (a really awesome film) you’d know that illusionists are always trying to find out each other’s secrets… but even then, I think magic has in a way, not caught up with the other arts like music, dance and film… because a majority of magicians refuse to reinvent, choosing to just stick to “classics” which your own grandparents would have see OR a big portion just copy.

A copy of a copy is still a copy.

And then it gets really boring. I don’t know about you, but it seems that there are many common illusion staples around. I roll my eyes whenever I see yet another illusionist who’s ripped off Hans Klok. I mean, I don’t get it. Hans Klok is a brilliant performer known for his amazing speed – so if you can’t do it as well as he can, why do you still take his music and buy shoddy China made copies of his illusions, for your show? Don’t you have professional pride?!

So yes. I was brushing my teeth this morning, when all that hit me.

Magic stagnates because of the lack of originality. Also – because every time someone seems to make it, much unneeded negative energy is brewed due to jealousy. A majority of professionals choose to stick to “what works” (COPY COPY COPY!) and only “perfecting classics” instead of pushing the bar, being refreshingly different and exciting & giving a truly amazing, uber magical experience to today’s discerning audience.

I’m no magic police, I’m just a magic lovin’ gal with a point  of view… and this is my personal $0.02 worth on my personal blog. Absolutely no offense intended, to anyone. At all. Though I must say you must have a mighty big ego (or guilty conscience!) if you  thought I was writing about you Hurhurhurhurhur…

Having said all that, I do hope that more magicians bravely step up to the plate and dare to be different and unique, in spite of all the petty politics that I’ve come to understand as a part of life. The trick, I’ve realised, is to simply not let them get to you. Let it be like water off a duck’s back. And then, you can focus on the stuff that really matters.

EUREKA!!!