As a kid, I loved watching magicians. My family would go see ‘em on stage.
My dad used to do tricks during Sunday school. A family friend of ours even owned a novelty shop. I always knew where to buy gum that turned your mouth blue.
Even when it should have seemed hokey, I liked magic. This is odd because I spent so much of my youth steeped in cynicism. But Penn Gillette didn’t like the stuff, so he decided to go into it.
Penn dominates the stage, pointing, spouting like an evangelist, encouraging us to see the big ideas behind the wizardry, plucking at his double bass, doing dangerous looking things with a nailgun, cracking jokes at the expense of Homeland Security or dispensing a running commentary on Teller’s sleights of hand. He also has a habit of giving away the tricks – before Teller’s red ball act, he declares “this is done with a thread!” – something he describes as “a kind of peace offering” to the audience but which some of the other magicians in Vegas see as a professional blasphemy.
He couldn’t care less what they think. “I have always hated magic,” he says. “I have always hated the basic undercurrent of magic which Jerry Seinfeld put best when he said: ‘All magic is “Here’s a quarter, now it’s gone. You’re a jerk. Now it’s back. You’re an idiot. Show’s over”.’ I never wanted to grow up to be a magician. It was never my goal.” He would rather have been a rock star, he says, but the business seemed already saturated with extraordinarily talented people. “So my thinking was, and I will say this outright, music is full of people I absolutely love. I don’t have a chance. They are all better than me. Magic has, ooh, nobody in it that I like.” He rocks back in his chair, cackling. “This is the field for me!” (Secher)
Late in my adolescence, I sort of shrugged my shoulders at magic. It was part of the catch-all rebellion against All That Came Before, but I gotta hand it to Penn & Teller. They broke through my cynical, Gen-X force-field and made magic cool again.
Hat tip to BoingBoing for that Telegraph article.
In considering the virtues of Penn & Teller you may wish to cast your eye over their video on their 'Bullshit Show' of Alcoholics Anonymous and it's Twelve Step programme. It is highly unlikely you will see a rebuttal from AA members (including myself) – it is simply not the way we live – but you may consider the following thought. AA currently has 2 million worldwide members recovering from addiction to alcohol. How many people with similar problems watched this video and as a consequence did not seek out the help which is there?
I am well aware of their show. While I certainly don't agree with all of their conclusions, I appreciate the spirit of inquiry. Even before their show, I was skeptical of AA, not because of its approach, but because the justice system seems to find AA the only other solution outside of imprisonment. As an atheist, I have deep reservations about an organization that is steeped in religious language.
At any rate, this post wasn't focused on the entirety of their work, but the appreciation for magic that I still have – long after my cynical phase. But thank you for caring enough to write.
Skeptical with over 2 million recovered people. Religious aspects (alcohol WAS my higher power, not anymore). Please don't be skeptical AA because of the Justice System, my skepticism is in the entire justice process.
If the justice system finds AA the only answer, that is sad, AA never makes that claim. I know for friends it has been their introduction to life without addiction, but they have gone on to other methods.
Penn and Teller, even with the knowledge of the 'tricks', magic is still fascination. Maybe that IS the magic. We all know its not real, or is it?
I think I've been clear that (1) this post is not about AA and that (2) it is the justice system's leaning on the organization that is my issue. If anyone finds that AA has been valuable in fixing their life, I have zero problem with that.