by professorpan » Thu Jul 20, 2006 10:46 pm
LilyPat, I'm sorry that mind control skits or references upset you. I can understand that completely. But do I think such things should be verboten outside the SRA/MC community? For freedom of speech as well as artistic reasons, I'd say no.<br><br>DE -- Derren has formed a persona as someone who can manipulate and control perception and behavior. His style is relatively unique in the history of mentalism (though there have been similar approaches in the past, Derren has made it his specialty). <br><br>Being the creative entertainer he is, and living in our short-attention span world, he, like any magician/mentalist, needs to keep his name and reputation. So he comes up with novel ideas. Just like any creative artist, he comes up with some half-baked stuff, but eventually finds something compelling that sticks. In this case, the videogame scenario clicked -- and it worked, as we're seeing in this thread. <br><br>David Blaine has taken the mind-over-matter public stunt to new heights -- that's his current niche.<br><br>When you pose the question "Is he really doing X, or is he doing Y?" you're entering territory I can't answer. Exposure of methodology is the bane of magic. But I will say this: The goal of a mentalist is to make you wonder if it's real or not. Not to convince you that he's really a master manipulator, or psychic, or a clever reader of body language. Mentalists have always known that controversy benefits them. After every Derren Brown special, you can find thousands of web postings from people trying to figure out how he did X or Y, or those claiming they know how it's done. That kind of publicity is priceless. The same thing goes for Blaine.<br><br>I think the interesting thing Derren's magic does is make people question how easily they can be manipulated. That refutes Hugh's dismissal of such entertainment as being sinister or malign. If people start questioning how they can be forcibly led to a conclusion, or directed to do something against their best judgment, it could very well cause them to investigate behavioral techniques.<br><br>If you really want to understand how mentalism works, there are plenty of books and videos on the subject. The problem is, once you see how certain things are done, the "magic" of being fooled and mystified fizzles. That's one of the problems about being in-the-know. I have a hard time disengaging my critical mentalist self when I watch another performer -- I'm thinking "Is he using method X or Y?" <br><br>I'm sorry I can't say "Oh, here's how he did it." Mentalism is the most secretive branch of magic. But it's also the most rewarding to perform, in my opinion. Helping people to experience a moment of mystery in their lives, to astonish someone and make him or her experience a sense of child-like wonder -- that makes me feel like I'm doing something very positive. It's nice to see people gasp, and smile, and leave the lobby having conversations about what is possible in the often dreary, mundane, soul-crushing world.<br><br> <p></p><i></i>
