It is not uncommon to see the phrase „easy to perform“ used in advertisements for magic items. As some of my research in the magic community has shown, the majority of magicians (amateurs and professionals alike) are attracted to advertisements that use this or similar copy.
Understandable, because who isn’t interested in taking the shortest and easiest route to a trick? And if easy to perform means that I can „concentrate on the presentation“ because I don’t have to worry about the technique/mechanics of a trick or routine, so much the better!
Many magicians like to give the impression that what they do is not easy, but an art. In their publicity they claim to be artists (most of them even extraordinary). They claim that their art is unique, of high quality and of the highest standard. They claim that it has taken them years to master it and that they still have to practise for hours every day. They want you to think that performing their magic takes a lot of study (it does), requires special talent and incredible skill, and is not for everyone.
What a load of rubbish! Take a look at some of the stuff on offer in our market. How much skill or practice time do you need to turn on an electronic device that gives the impression of what a spectator has written on your hidden iPhone in the performance case? How much skill does it take to press a button on the remote control in your pocket to turn on the little motor hidden in the jumbo pack of cards that then pushes up a card using your magical powers?
When laymen start Googling for explanations of these wonders (and they do), it is counterproductive for them to find words like „A bargain at only $9.95. Easy to perform, no sleight of hand required, completely self-working. Unpack and perform in two minutes“. The same goes for discovering things like „No manipulation required. The built-in electronics do all the work for you“.
When a layman has finally found something and discovers to his surprise that „magic tricks are often sold quite cheaply and are very easy to do“, the magician is left in a pitiable position. His ‚art‘ is gone, reduced to a grown man showing off children’s toys that anyone with a little more intelligence than a monkey could do. Not really a great image to present as a ‚master of deception‘.
I blame the dealers (or who else writes such things?) for not being honest enough and trying to take the shortest route to the customer’s wallet. With irritating, false and seductive copy. By publishing thoughtless and cheap phrases.
For one thing, there is no magic that works on its own. You have to deal with an audience, write and memorise a script, rehearse the sequences and use the props, and much more. Take a trick where the method is based not on sleight of hand but on some clever subtlety or mathematical principle. Of course, you don’t need to practise sleight of hand, but you do need to practise other difficult things like audience management, scripting, blocking. You should know them.
If a naive person buys this self-worker and then goes out and performs it, disaster strikes: the audience sees an inept person doing uninteresting things, boring them to death and still hoping to be recognised and applauded as a magician.
Another harmful thing is that no layman outside our circles should be allowed to know that some magic can be so simple. Thanks to the Internet, these Muggles can enter our secret world with just a few clicks of the mouse.
Let us protect our secrets as best we can. It is the only chance we have of not falling into the category of grown-ups demonstrating gadgets and pretending to be artists.
Too much scorched earth already.
