“Magic For Humans” by Justin Willman has dropped on Netflix. Fans of magic, and even those only casually interested, will find it entertaining. Willman dampened my enjoyment by bending if not breaking the contract the honest magician has with the audience on what kind of cheating is allowed.
There was at least one magic show on a major network – I think ABC – back in the 1980s that featured magic tricks. And it turns out the biggest trick in the show, the disappearance of an elephant or something like that, was completely fraudulent. In other words, it wasn’t smoke or mirrors. They shot that part of the show without an audience, stopped the camera, removed the elephant, turned on the camera and later put in audience reaction from another trick to suggest there had been an illusion. They got busted when other magicians turned them in. The rules are still bent today. I read a commentary a few weeks ago by the guy who oversees the magic at the Magic and Comedy Club in Hermosa Beach and he notes he has problems with Criss Angel and another magician – maybe Dynamo? – because they use camera angles and editing to deceive viewers. I can’t find that article now to link to it. *MILD SPOILER WARNING* So in the first episode, Willman tells us he is approaching people randomly on the street and doing magic tricks. He pulls thinks out of a bag. The final trick in this is pulling a guy’s wife out of the bag. Willman defended the trick on Reddit, where there had been accusations of CGI or other video trickery. He says he uses an M Bench. I know what a standard M Bench looks like. I don’t know if there’s a special magician’s M Bench. LINK <https://www.reddit.com/r/Magic/comments/9820dx/justin_willmans_magic_for_humans_has_dropped_on/e4fxp75/> But my point is, if this was a genuinely random interaction with someone, I don’t see how they could have had his wife ready to jump in and do the trick. There’s a gap that damages his credibility. In another trick, Willman is shown running to camera left and then rolls up driving a vehicle second later on camera right. Clearly there was a longer lapse of time before he arrived. I don’t know how he did the tricks so I can’t say if these are venial sins or mortal sins. Other than that, it’s a great series. It’s a hybrid of comedy and magic. If you are on the fence about watching it, watch the first episode and then the third episode, which is the one everyone is talking about. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TVorNotTV" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to tvornottv+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
