Mentalism is no more immune to Sturgeon's Law than magic is. It's just that the recent "flavor of the month" status that "mentalism" is experiencing has just made that simple fact more obvious.

The Marketer's Dream

"If only I could discover a bunch of people who:

- are relatively easy to find and all hang out together online
- hate not knowing things that others know
- want to be seen as cool and cutting-edge
- like to give positive reviews of things they'll probably never use
- are often unaware of the history and provenance of things outside of their usual specialty, so we can sell them old stuff as if it were new

Now, where would I find such a group of people?"

This.

I'm gonna cry.

"The future aint bright,as it use to be!"...'Meatloaf'

LOL!

Isn't the transition to mentalism usually gradual? Magicians may start by adding a mental effect but ultimately they'll see the reactions are stronger when they choose a character, limit their claimed abilities, and do the kinds of effects that demonstrate those abilities. These are all things we read and learn over time when we choose to listen to pros. New guys are probably willing to listen to what pros have to say. Some are so new that they don't know who to listen to yet.

I too have grown weary thinking about mentalism though I usually enjoy performing it. It boils down to only a few basic effects and without a remarkable presentation it's easy to progressively bore our audiences, as Max Maven wrote years ago. I agree with Jerome that it's invigorating to revisit classic magic, even if only in private. I've spent too much time thinking about mentalism to the exclusion of other interests, magical or not.

When lovers no longer have things of interest to talk about, it results in stinky dead love. When mentalists stop having things of interest to think and talk about, it results in stinky dead mentalism. Performers who are interested in subjects complementary to their performances are fun to watch because they've found outside ideas to bring into their presentations.

Keep in mind that many mentalists are often magicians at heart. They fell in love with "magic" in the beginning and explored the possibilities of it.
then this "magician" explored the sub-branch of mentalism, and eventually spent more of their time researching it.

I am a "magician" just like Ed Millis has also mentioned. Likewise, I am very interested in focusing a lot more on mentalism, as I love the styles and effects by some of the very guys on this forum, and their marketed effects. In particular John Archer and Devin Knight.

We need to allow for the blending of magic & mentalism for the transition time, as the two styles are under the same umbrella of entertainment. Hence "the magic Café" includes the "penny for your thoughts" section.

I suspect that it is this blending transition time (which for some may after end) that riles some mentalists - blending may be seen as watering down. Though, for what it's worth Scott (and Mike), I think your point is a good one.

The amazing Pog, just by reading your posts recently, I can foresee you fast tracking into this type of show business.

I appreciate the comment Scott . But I don't think I'm quite ready to give up the day job just yet ...

On the good mentalist/bad magician thought, I see bad magicians everywhere. Of course there are good ones, too, exceptional ones who entertain and mystify, and whom I would watch time and again. But I don’t really see that many bad mentalists, at least not for the long haul.

At least from what I’ve observed, we have lots of bad “mentalicians” trying out bad mental magic, but not so much of what anybody would call mentalism. (NOT elitist, just not the same). Also, from what I’ve seen, the poor performer in mentalism just doesn’t last; they move on to the next “cool thingy” (sort of like one could hope the bad magicians would do!)

I think (just I think, not canon) that an audience can tell when their leg is being pulled. No matter what you claim onstage, they’re going to accept what lines up with their experience, factored against your presentational skills. If you’re bad at it, they may not call it a magic act (they may not know WHAT to call it), but (again, I think) they’re not going to call it mentalism. I could be wrong.

For me at least (the only person I can speak for) the entry into mentalism has been a huge step up in performance, and not even attempted until after mastering stage craft and audience management. My mindset is not on “fooling people” or showing off my juggling skills, but on entertaining my guests, giving them something to SERIOUSLY wonder about, and having a good time and sending them home feeling like they’ve just spent an hour with a good (albeit weird) friend.

There are some magicians who don’t get this (and those are often the ones labeled as “bad”). But I don’t think a mentalist can survive at all without it. If I couldn’t present effectively, entertainingly, and yes, convincingly, I’d rather not do it at all.

Now, just like magic, people performing badly (exposure through ineptitude) is a bane for mentalism. But seriously, the gimmicks that we use? (…those of us who do use them…) if they were to be exposed at all, would be taken as personal stupidity, not the weakness of an entire genre. In other words, if my dove box falls apart, that’s one level of embarrassment and simply verifies what people already think about magic props; if I flash my CT, I and I alone am a bumbler.

I guess what I’m saying is that there is much more at stake and on a more personal level. Maybe it’s a statement of faith, but (while it is being trivialized to some degree) I just can’t see mentalism ever being belittled to the extent that magic has been. The rewards are completely different, and maybe I’m wrong, but I just can’t see anyone who’s bad at it staying with it for any length of time.

For them, it IS a flavor of the month, which they (hopefully) will move on from before too much damage can be done.

Just thinking out loud (so to speak)…

DWRackely - I'm short on time and may comment more later. You are on to something. Audiences pick up on two things, in my opinion, sincerity and skill. I believe an audience can detect skill even if they are unable to define it. Same with sincerity. So with mentalism if they detect insincerity and/or low skill they will write you off. If they pick up sincerity it will cover many other things. I believe this will only increase in the near future due to the eroding of interpersonal interactions.

~ Dan

I absolutely agree with this Dan. Great perspective. This is the type of thing that one can only learn from experience.

GOLD!

J.