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brainchild Loyal user Ideological Bigot 259 Posts |
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On 2007-11-01 15:35, BrentR wrote: Is American Idol a show about the art of singing? Does the greatest singer win? Is Survivor really about the person who can camp out on an island and pick coconuts the best? |
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the levitator Special user Spellbound Productions 546 Posts |
I agree that was a well thought out post Brent. But honestly, anyone looking to television to elevate any artform seems a bit optimistic. TV today is about ratings, exploitation and drama. I can understand people not supporting this show because it doesn't "elevate the art". What I don't understand is why people thought it would? TV has changed a lot in the last 10 years, and not for the better in my opinion. On TV, the most talented don't necessarily make the cut. It's all about image, not substance. Is Criss Angel the best performer in the country? Probably not. But he found an image and persona that appealed to TV and is making the most of it. Style over substance seems to be the mantra of today's television programming.
I think it was Ghandi that said, "You must be the change you wish to see in the world." Set whatever example you wish, but don't expect network television to suddenly get altruistic and decide to be ethical and supportive to artists and their artforms. I perform a lot in my area and whenever I'm asked about TV magic, I try to be polite about whatever view the person holds and then turn the focus back to live performance. People invariably always find whatever I do more entertaining than any magic they see on TV. Is it because I'm better than the magicians on TV? NO! It's because I'm 3' in front of them and not confined to a little box that is known for using all kinds of tricks to shred our reality. The peformers on television really have little to do with people's opinions of our art. People, at least in my experience, give much more weight and credibility to a live performance than they do a televised performance. I am hopeful that magic/mentalism will always remain a personal artform, and not a massed produced machine like the music industry. I don't seriously believe the Phenomenon show is going to do anything positive or negative to my art or career personally. I am still holding on the the hope that my actions and performance will determine my eventual success or failure, not a TV show. The only performers that should really benefit from Phenomenon are the contestants on the show. The rest of us just have to keep plugging away the hard way! |
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DerZauberer Elite user Southern California 468 Posts |
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On 2007-11-01 15:45, kammagic wrote: Oops. That's why I never use that method. |
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0pus Inner circle New Jersey 1739 Posts |
Jim Callahan is a genius.
He is about to become the Uri Geller of the 21st century, regardless of the outcome of the Phenomenon show. And the confrontation between Callahan and Angel was not staged – it was planned, though. First, let's take a look at Criss Angel. Sure, he has a following of pre-pubescent boys who are interested in magic. Those guys are kind of geeky. My son is in that age group and he and his friends laugh at Angel. As an example, once when the school bus was late someone asked where the bus was. One of the boys said, "It's vanished . . . Mind Fweek! Oooooh!" Great hilarity ensued. So, while magicians see a strong popularity for Angel in the brats who hang around magic events, that popularity is perhaps overestimated. In fact, I think Angel's appeal is not very great. And Angel's hold on public attention has not been the strongest; it is certainly weaker than that of David Blaine during Blaine's peak. As a result, from his first television show, Angel has attempted to create interest by feuding with Blaine. You all remember his challenges to Blaine. And Blaine's response? He ignored Angel. Now, with his appearance on Phenomenon, Angel has been attempting to set himself up as a debunker in the James Randi mold. Again, this is to enhance the marketability of Criss Angel. Now let's take a look at Jim Callahan. He has been claiming to be the real deal from the start. He has issued challenges to JREF, but those challenges have not met with the kind of publicity one might have expected. Enter network television and the Phenomenon show. Does Jim Callahan enter the competition in hopes of winning the title? I don't think so. I think that Callahan is playing for much higher stakes. He is about to launch his career to a national or even international level through his appearance. He is going to manipulate Angel. How does Callahan intend to do this? Well, it is certainly not by performing some wimpy "mentalism" effect. No, he is going to contact (channel) a spirit. And he will engage in histrionics that, while they may be appropriate to live theatre, will be over the top for television. Now Callahan is a savvy enough performer to be able to adjust the level of theatrics to the proper level for different media; he knew what he was doing. His choice of effect and the way he performed it were clearly designed to set Criss Angel off. The goal of Callahan's appearance was to initiate the war between debunker Angel and psychic Callahan. It is intended to be a replay of the Randi/Geller interactions of decades ago. Like it or not, Randi's efforts to debunk Geller served to guarantee Geller's marketability worldwide. And Geller's popularity served as a springboard for Randi's international appearances too. A similar Angel/Callahan relationship could do wonders for both careers. What's next? Well, I don't think it is in Callahan's interest to continue in the competition. He needs to get bounced immediately, or (perhaps more interestingly) he should withdraw on the grounds of prejudice against actual psychic phenomena. I think that continuing to compete (or even winning the competition) will weaken the interest in Callahan. So, my conclusion is that Callahan is a genius; he has played Criss Angel and NBC like a Stradivarius. |
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BrentR New user 5 Posts |
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On 2007-11-01 15:43, brainchild wrote: Sadly, no. And that show has it's own share of problems. Does that justify anything that happened last night? Brent |
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entity Inner circle Canada 5060 Posts |
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On 2007-11-01 14:40, RileyG wrote: ??? I said that Angel had his Father's Death Certificate in the envelope. - entity
email: tomebaxter@icloud.com
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keithmagic Veteran user 375 Posts |
I just saw the YouTube of what went down...
I am really confused as to Jim's statement made on Oct 25 at the start of this thread... "I wanted to give a little bit of a heads up as to what I will be doing next week before I have to head out to rehearsal." And then he states: "I will be doing this for real and because of that no exposure is possible. Angel & Randi may try to bust, or expose but at the end of the day I win for I have the truth of reality." UM - OK... So if Jim's little fit of jiggling around like an overstuffed bill crumpled around IT while a table hopper "walks away" using his ITR is REAL... Why the need to rehearse? I though the episode was more comedic than anything!
Author of "The Festival Entertainer" The Professional Entertainer's Guide to Booking and Working Outdoor Fairs, Festivals, and Events.
Available at http://www.howtobookfestivals.com |
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DerZauberer Elite user Southern California 468 Posts |
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On 2007-11-01 15:43, clowngrass wrote: Jim is entertaining the audience. Who cares what he claims or not. His performance was entertaining. (This is silly; I don’t have to defend Jim). Are you the guy that stood up in the theater during Jurassic Park and screamed that the Dinosaurs were fake? If you bother to read the fine print on Jim’s website – you will see he is an entertainer. Quote:
I am asking those who read this site to remember I am an entertainer, artist & researcher. Criss Angel attempted a séance and contacted a murdered little girl in Season two of is awful show. (How come his act was genius and Jims was comical? Perhaps because Criss is jealous?) |
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brainchild Loyal user Ideological Bigot 259 Posts |
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On 2007-11-01 15:48, BrentR wrote: Yes. Of Course. I think you are naive if you expect network television to elevate your art form. This isn't the 1950's. Leave it to Beaver left the building a LONG time ago and in its place was The Osbournes, cursing and fighting their way to the biggest ratings cable ever saw. If this had not been a television program then I might agree with you, but it was a television program. What generates the biggest ad sales? Ratings. What generates the biggest ratings? Controversy. |
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Joshua Barrett Inner circle Cincinnati, Ohio 3631 Posts |
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On 2007-11-01 15:47, DerZauberer wrote: yes I saw that last night as well. I also cringed when someone did hummer card. google floating card and number one is youtube explanation. id never use thread essiaccilay elastic on tv with all those lights and such |
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JohnCressman Special user Allentown, PA 903 Posts |
I think magicians, more so mentalists, get too absorbed in is this real is it not, did he use this technique or that technique, someone did that before... did he use a stooge... blah... blah... blah...
We seem to lose sight of what our real goal is - or should be: It's to entertain people. It's to provoke emotions in people - excitement, wonder, fright, sadness, happiness, etc. When we lose sight of that, we start to lose ourself in the details and it ends up detracting from our performances. Jim gave an extremely controversial performance. Irregardless of whether it was real, it was riveting. It was thought provoking. I certainly respect that... just as I respect that Criss Angel is a great peformer who knows who to manipulate the home audience. In Hollywood, most people know... no press is bad press. The reason the Stars don't HAMMER the tabloids with lawsuits until they're out of business is that they understand, the more their name appears... the greater their draw... even if it's just because of the controversy. Jim took a risk and I think it paid off and will continue to pay off in the long run! I think it was an incredible career move! "Fortune favors the Bold!" |
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Slim King Eternal Order Orlando 18012 Posts |
Bottom line...Criss Angel claimed to be able to debunk Jim Callahan....He was outsmarted...He FAILED....His only way out was to try to turn the tables...switch the attention to a DIFFERENT challenge.
Criss Angel FAILED to debunk Jim Callahan and THAT'S the bottom line!
THE MAN THE SKEPTICS REFUSE TO TEST FOR ONE MILLION DOLLARS.. The Worlds Foremost Authority on Houdini's Life after Death.....
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DerZauberer Elite user Southern California 468 Posts |
I just watched the ruckus again on YouTube again.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzdhN5CBNpE&NR=1 Kudos to Jim with that Elvis stance – Brilliant. The respect just keeps growing! |
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BIlly James Special user 991 Posts |
Here's another youtube piece.
http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=mNTZsv7GwE8&NR=1 We've all seen the video now, but check some of the comments under this one. :) |
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videokideo Special user 895 Posts |
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On 2007-11-01 15:31, Timothy Drake wrote: Pretty sure it wasnt real. That or it was the first time performed as he didn't seem to be covered in them. But looked fake and smeared to me. But that is the question I'm often asked... how many tats I have due to this routine. I do a nice piece where a person draws a picture, and another sticks a voodoo doll with a pin. Their picture is tat'd on that body part. When I reveal the tat, it still has a bandage over it and it is very convincing that it is new when pulled off. I don't have a real tattoo on my body... its just a new way of revealing a prediction. |
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BrentR New user 5 Posts |
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On 2007-11-01 15:59, brainchild wrote: I'm not naive by any stretch. I'm perfectly aware of how controversy sells. I'm also aware that there are people who further their art form without using it. I know that in spite of the music industry being corrupt, there are still good people out there making things better. How do I know? I work in the music industry in Nashville, TN. Specifically, I work in a nationwide radio network. I get to meet all types. And there is no rule that says you HAVE to be controversal or unethical to be successful. The show last night was extremely classy; until the said events happened. It was going quite well, and MUCH better than last week. Now the best performers won't be remembered. If you accept the way things are instead of finding fault with it, I'm sorry. But it's not the ONLY way to sell yourself and your art. It's not being naive. It's just me thinking about how sad things have become and how some people on this board seems to be applauding it. Again, all completely my opinion and not meant to discount anyone else's opinion, as theirs is just as important as mine. I wish I had the time to stay around all day and talk about this. Unfortunately I can't. But I really do wish you guys and also Jim the best. I'll be back around later. Just letting you know so you know I may not be able to respond for a bit. Cheers. Brent |
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entity Inner circle Canada 5060 Posts |
Several points to ponder:
- In this performance, Jim didn't claim supernatural powers, to my knowledge. He may have made such claims elsewhere, but not during this performance. - In his own, slightly obscure way, he gave a disclaimer, saying that he was a skeptic, and that people should decide for themselves what to believe about what he was doing. - In the context of this show (with Hummer cards spinning and Criss Angel commenting on the "routines", would anyone really take anything that anyone does on the show as anything but a theatrical performance? - In the premier episode, the Performers came off badly, in my opinion, because of time constraints, because of the very premise of the show (a competition of Mentalism performances immediately dissected as "routines"), and because Criss Angel used the opportunity to promote himself to the detriment of all of the Performers. And the Performers stood silently by and let it happen. Jim's turn was coming up. The writing was on the wall, here. It was clear that Angel wanted to debunk anyone who made claims of supernatural abilities... It was also clear that Angel isn't smart enough to see who's actually claiming what IN THE ACTUAL PERFORMANCES. So Jim has a choice to make -- Do his thing and let Angel walk all over his performance, or prepare for the worst and make hay from publicly refusing to take Angel's ****. The choice Jim made might have taken the limelight from some very good performances given by others on the show, I agree. But in the end, it is a Competition, not just for who wins the money and the title in this show, but a competition to get public attention to carry beyond this show, and to be seen in whatever you think is the best light possible, given the circumstances. From that perspective, I think that Jim did what he felt he had to do, and while I don't agree with his approach at times, in this instance I applaud his having the courage to speak up and defend himself. If it's all a setup and a hoax (and none of us KNOWS that it was), my feelings remain the same... Jim did what he thought best for himself under the circumstances. - There's no business like Show business! - entity
email: tomebaxter@icloud.com
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Joshua Barrett Inner circle Cincinnati, Ohio 3631 Posts |
Even though he never said it, don't you guys agree that in such a routine or such a performer you have to in some degree insinuate to some degree that it MIGHT be real? it seems to be that if your like " I'm gonna contact a spirt, but its all fake" that you have no mystery or anything left
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Erdnase27 Inner circle 2505 Posts |
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On 2007-11-01 16:05, Slim King wrote: I dunno.. from here it seems that criss is the winner. all the comments on youtube for example are pro criss. I don't really think criss was outsmarted I think he pretty nailed jim... |
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Chris K Inner circle 2544 Posts |
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On 2007-11-01 14:20, The Doctor wrote: That's it... quick, Steve Brooks hold him back... ARGH! <commercial break> Hey, how ya doing? |
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