Magic for dummies
This is what I discovered about myself while seeing the magician David Copperfield this weekend:
I am a bizarre combination of hard-assed cynic and suggestible softie. Throw in a healthy measure of Angry and you have infobabe in a nutshell.
Okay maybe that's a bit harsh.
When we first took our seats in the lovely Paramount Theatre (okay I suppose it's Theater, since it's in Seattle), to await Copperfield's arrival, we were greeted with a large screen (flanked by two smaller screens, in case you missed the huge one hovering in the middle of the stage), constantly scrolling video messages such as "Entertainer of the Year!" and "Largest International Television Audience!" and "Richest Guy Ever to Pull a Rabbit Out of a Hat!"
Well okay maybe not that last one. But seriously. Fine, tell us how many organizations have bestowed fancy titles on you, but you don't really need to tell us how much money you make. So that kind of started me off thinking, "how tacky. pft."
Then, when the lights finally went down (15 minutes after the show was scheduled to start), the first thing we saw was another video presentation. This time, it was about 15 minutes or so of clips. Clips from talk shows, sitcoms, movies and other entertainment media that have mentioned Copperfield. Yes okay! We get it! You're part of the popular culture! You're a phenomenon! Are you going to do some fabulous magic tricks for us or what?!?!
Finally, he showed up on stage in his characteristic uniform of black pants, white t-shirt and pale blue button shirt hanging open. If he wasn't the richest magician in the world, who used to go out with Claudia Schiffer (although apparently there is speculation the whole relationship was a ruse, according to wikipedia), I would have thought he was kind of a layabout schlub.
Anyways. So finally, about half an hour after the show was supposed to actually start, he treated us to a few tricks. And the magic was pretty cool I suppose. I think my trouble with magic generally is that I always think I should be able to see how the tricks are executed, but I never can, so I kind of get pissed off. Also I get distracted from the actual show by looking closely at certain things to see if I can tell how the tricks are done. I can't really just relax and enjoy it.
That's why I enjoyed Penn and Teller so much I think. Because they do these really neat tricks but then they basically tell you how they did them. They bullshit you, but then they go "HA HA! We bullshitted you!" and they explain how. They don't make you feel stupid and you don't walk away feeling awestruck, except by how cool and down to earth they are. In fact, they even sign autographs and pose for photographs after the show is over.
Copperfield bowed a couple times and disappeared off the stage, the lights went up, and the audience was funnelled into the lobby, to make our slow journey out the front door. Lots of time to deconstruct the show. My boyfriend had a slightly different take on it, since he is something of a magic aficionado, but he was just as disappointed as I was. He felt like Copperfield was simply going through the motions, didn't exhibit any enthusiasm or particular passion. And I could see his point.
And yes, we were disappointed. I think I know why Copperfield is the richest magician in the world: he charges a minimum of 55 bucks for a ticket to his show, which consists of 20 minutes of self-congratulatory video, followed by one hour of smoke and mirrors.
My advice, fair readers: search for David Copperfield on YouTube and see the same tricks for free.
I am a bizarre combination of hard-assed cynic and suggestible softie. Throw in a healthy measure of Angry and you have infobabe in a nutshell.
Okay maybe that's a bit harsh.
When we first took our seats in the lovely Paramount Theatre (okay I suppose it's Theater, since it's in Seattle), to await Copperfield's arrival, we were greeted with a large screen (flanked by two smaller screens, in case you missed the huge one hovering in the middle of the stage), constantly scrolling video messages such as "Entertainer of the Year!" and "Largest International Television Audience!" and "Richest Guy Ever to Pull a Rabbit Out of a Hat!"
Well okay maybe not that last one. But seriously. Fine, tell us how many organizations have bestowed fancy titles on you, but you don't really need to tell us how much money you make. So that kind of started me off thinking, "how tacky. pft."
Then, when the lights finally went down (15 minutes after the show was scheduled to start), the first thing we saw was another video presentation. This time, it was about 15 minutes or so of clips. Clips from talk shows, sitcoms, movies and other entertainment media that have mentioned Copperfield. Yes okay! We get it! You're part of the popular culture! You're a phenomenon! Are you going to do some fabulous magic tricks for us or what?!?!
Finally, he showed up on stage in his characteristic uniform of black pants, white t-shirt and pale blue button shirt hanging open. If he wasn't the richest magician in the world, who used to go out with Claudia Schiffer (although apparently there is speculation the whole relationship was a ruse, according to wikipedia), I would have thought he was kind of a layabout schlub.
Anyways. So finally, about half an hour after the show was supposed to actually start, he treated us to a few tricks. And the magic was pretty cool I suppose. I think my trouble with magic generally is that I always think I should be able to see how the tricks are executed, but I never can, so I kind of get pissed off. Also I get distracted from the actual show by looking closely at certain things to see if I can tell how the tricks are done. I can't really just relax and enjoy it.
That's why I enjoyed Penn and Teller so much I think. Because they do these really neat tricks but then they basically tell you how they did them. They bullshit you, but then they go "HA HA! We bullshitted you!" and they explain how. They don't make you feel stupid and you don't walk away feeling awestruck, except by how cool and down to earth they are. In fact, they even sign autographs and pose for photographs after the show is over.
Copperfield bowed a couple times and disappeared off the stage, the lights went up, and the audience was funnelled into the lobby, to make our slow journey out the front door. Lots of time to deconstruct the show. My boyfriend had a slightly different take on it, since he is something of a magic aficionado, but he was just as disappointed as I was. He felt like Copperfield was simply going through the motions, didn't exhibit any enthusiasm or particular passion. And I could see his point.
And yes, we were disappointed. I think I know why Copperfield is the richest magician in the world: he charges a minimum of 55 bucks for a ticket to his show, which consists of 20 minutes of self-congratulatory video, followed by one hour of smoke and mirrors.
My advice, fair readers: search for David Copperfield on YouTube and see the same tricks for free.
posted by infobabe | 9:24 a.m.
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