Magic is Dead. Long Live Magic!

The Masked Magician hit the scene a year after I started in magic. He was just as controversial in the magic community as you’d expect.

The big names in magic asked their fan bases to write angry letters to the show sponsors. This is ultimately why the Masked Magician left TV. He ran out of people willing to give him money.

When the Masked Magician finally faded the magic community breathed a sigh of relief. People would forget and move on. The art of magic was safe!

Then the Internet hit. YouTube hit. Wikipedia hit. We entered an era where secrecy is nonexistent. Suddenly we realized that the Masked Magician wasn’t a “one time problem” that could be solved. He was the first tiny wave in a hurricane of exposure!

In a world of total exposure, what’s an artist who relies on secrecy to do? As I thought about this I was reminded of what the Masked Magician said at the end of his final special (see video above).

Let me be clear. This guy did it for the money. He saw what was coming and cashed in at the right moment. The harm he did to magic wasn’t the exposure, but to people’s perception of the art. They began to believe that all magic was easy once you know the secret. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Still, as I re-watched that video I couldn’t help but admit… He’s not wrong…

There are no more “secrets” in magic. The genie is out of the bottle. That ship has sailed. So what’s left?

• What’s left is entertainment.

• What’s left is how you feel when you watch the show.

• What’s left is the performance.

• What’s left is the emotional journey that the audience is taken on.

Once you realize that you begin to see that the art of magic isn’t dead after all. It just needs to evolve. The old school was about flawless technical execution and manipulation. The new school is about charismatic performance and audience engagement.

Welcome to the new school. Welcome to Shizzle Dizzle Magic.

June 6th, 2010 by Mystical Matthew | Magic Theory.