There is a bit of drama in the magic community as of late (more than usual I should clarify). A known magician who is now part of a cabal of other performers who create "prank" videos for money on fb decided to... I dunno... test the waters(?) of magic as a vehicle for pranks. The problem is, they did such by exposing a well known principle in magic. The magic community at large was up in arms and for good reasons obviously.
The main gripes I have heard are:
- Betrayal - Many who were fans of this performer's magic and creativity previously felt like this was a slap in the face to anyone who respected and/or looked up to them.
- Exposure - This one is obvious, but if it was their own creation, no one would have cared. Sadly, this was not the first magical effect they had exposed, it was just the first people had caught wind of.
- Guilt by Association - The producer of these kinds of videos had already cut a major divide between himself and the community previously. The videos are of lackluster quality and perceived as existing merely for likes, shares and fat stacks of cash.(Mostly that last one)
- No Real Reason - The videos outcome would have been the same had they just cut the secret or used something different. There was no real ascertainable reason to make the video other than views and to throw magic under a bus.
Whenever something like this occurs in the community, the defense/excuse tends to fall on "Well THIS person exposes stuff and no one cares" or "it's ok to sell magic secrets or put it in books so why is this not ok?". This kind of deflection tends to be their main defense and smart people counter it with "We are not talking about them, this is about you". Regardless of their reasons, none of them hold water because the main difference here is Intent.
When magic is taught or bought, the person had to actively seek it out. They had to already have some sort of inherent interest in gaining that knowledge. They had to, even if it's only a little bit, put in some effort. What has happened recently is essentially the magic equivalent of someone walking up to you on the street completely unprovoked and saying "This is how a thumbtip works. Ok. BYEEEEEEE!" and running away. You did not ask to know that secret nor have any intent on ever knowing it. It was just thrust upon you with no consent.
Ok so, what about the people who found magic through exposure? I have heard a handful of people in their 30s say that one of the things that got them into magic was the Secrets Revealed specials (with the masked magician). I will be happy to tell you the difference between that and what is going on currently.
When one watched those specials not only did you get to see magic performed you also got to see what it looked like first. You could then decide if you wanted to know the secret or not. You could walk away if so inclined. In the aforementioned video, the secret was shoved in front of you in the first 3 seconds. (Technically sooner cuz of the thumbnail) You had no choice if you clicked play. You also did not see magic presented as the performing art it's meant to be. It was a cheap throwaway gag with no meaning.
Of course the minority who produces this content is claiming that the magic community doth protest too much. However, when things like this happen, the community SHOULD be vocal about it. There should be a discourse of some kind. Perhaps someone from the next generation will see it and say, "huh... I don't think this is the way magic should be presented. I don't want to alienate myself". I feel the damage these kinds of videos will do to the next crop of magicians will be felt long after the perpetrators have cashed their checks and faded away.
I hope I am wrong, but I can already see the ripples.
