We mentalists are snobs. We consider ourselves specialists in a not-too-popular branch of magic. We are somewhat elitist, we have certain criteria that have to be adhered to. We have an image to uphold.
Speaking of imagery, who the fuck decides what image we should have? Who the hell decided that a Mentalist should look a certain way, talk a certain way, dress a certain way? Do people really care?
Well, in this case, YES they do.
A mentalist will try to pass himself off as these things :
1. An actual psychic (Not cool, but if it works for you, knock yourself out)
2. A manipulator of thoughts and gestures
3. An illusionist who works with the mind, not the eyes
There are probably more, but I'm too lazy to think, so I guess 3 is enough.
Now, with all of the above 'characters' that the mentalist has to play, imagery is extremely important. You can't dress like a Cowboy and try to read people's minds. It just won't work.
But then again, you don't have to be all conservative. There's no need to dress like a turd in a monkey suit and all that crap. What I'm trying to say is that you have to project a certain aura in order to make people take you seriously.
Casual dress is fine, so long as you have an air of mystery about you, then you're gonna be OK.
Shit, I'm tired of typing. I'll just get on to my next point.
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METALBENDING
People who know me know that I'm a huge fan of metalbending. I always seem to be bending stuff here and there. It's gotten to the point where there's this mamak stall in Bukit Bintang will give me plastic cutlery whenever I go there.
What I'm NOT a big fan of is metalbending being a spectacle. It seems that everyone and their mothers are doing it right now. It's probably the 'in' thing among local magicians. I don't like that.
Call me a magic snob, I don't give a rat's ass. I feel that metalbending should be within the realm of the mentalist alone, and should not be degraded to the point where a 9 year old brat who just learned a french drop could make his mother's silverware all loopy and bent.
That's just wrong.
I've noticed that magicians here tend to specialize in certain things. Some are cardicians. And some are sleight-of-hand artists. Others go for stage magic, street magic, card flourishes, whatever.
What's weird is that there are certain people who specialize in cards, yet perform metalbending a whole lot. And they don't even touch anything else. Cards and Metalbending. What do you call a person who does that, since we enjoy giving specialized tags so much? A 'Metalcardist'? I'm confused here.
I don't mind if magicians try to diversify, look at Copperfield, Blaine, Angel, etc. They have very diverse acts in their repertoire. But you want to be known as a card-guy, and suddenly you start bending spoons. That rubs me the wrong way.
Like I said, mentalists are snobs. We don't want our art to be diluted. And seeing something like that irks our snobby little egos. I understand that in card magic (and a lot of other branches of magic), there are some tricks with mentalist inclinations. I have no quarrel with that, I just think that mentalism should be a little more exclusive.
I dunno, just something to think about.
Good thoughts,
Baalan.
Speaking of imagery, who the fuck decides what image we should have? Who the hell decided that a Mentalist should look a certain way, talk a certain way, dress a certain way? Do people really care?
Well, in this case, YES they do.
A mentalist will try to pass himself off as these things :
1. An actual psychic (Not cool, but if it works for you, knock yourself out)
2. A manipulator of thoughts and gestures
3. An illusionist who works with the mind, not the eyes
There are probably more, but I'm too lazy to think, so I guess 3 is enough.
Now, with all of the above 'characters' that the mentalist has to play, imagery is extremely important. You can't dress like a Cowboy and try to read people's minds. It just won't work.
But then again, you don't have to be all conservative. There's no need to dress like a turd in a monkey suit and all that crap. What I'm trying to say is that you have to project a certain aura in order to make people take you seriously.
Casual dress is fine, so long as you have an air of mystery about you, then you're gonna be OK.
Shit, I'm tired of typing. I'll just get on to my next point.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
METALBENDING
People who know me know that I'm a huge fan of metalbending. I always seem to be bending stuff here and there. It's gotten to the point where there's this mamak stall in Bukit Bintang will give me plastic cutlery whenever I go there.
What I'm NOT a big fan of is metalbending being a spectacle. It seems that everyone and their mothers are doing it right now. It's probably the 'in' thing among local magicians. I don't like that.
Call me a magic snob, I don't give a rat's ass. I feel that metalbending should be within the realm of the mentalist alone, and should not be degraded to the point where a 9 year old brat who just learned a french drop could make his mother's silverware all loopy and bent.
That's just wrong.
I've noticed that magicians here tend to specialize in certain things. Some are cardicians. And some are sleight-of-hand artists. Others go for stage magic, street magic, card flourishes, whatever.
What's weird is that there are certain people who specialize in cards, yet perform metalbending a whole lot. And they don't even touch anything else. Cards and Metalbending. What do you call a person who does that, since we enjoy giving specialized tags so much? A 'Metalcardist'? I'm confused here.
I don't mind if magicians try to diversify, look at Copperfield, Blaine, Angel, etc. They have very diverse acts in their repertoire. But you want to be known as a card-guy, and suddenly you start bending spoons. That rubs me the wrong way.
Like I said, mentalists are snobs. We don't want our art to be diluted. And seeing something like that irks our snobby little egos. I understand that in card magic (and a lot of other branches of magic), there are some tricks with mentalist inclinations. I have no quarrel with that, I just think that mentalism should be a little more exclusive.
I dunno, just something to think about.
Good thoughts,
Baalan.
posted by adlan at Monday, November 06, 2006
7 comments
