So David Blaine is locking himself in a box for a couple of days, right? And he's saying it's "real," right? So some guy at the guardian gets this great idea--what if we try that, and write an article on it?Posts: 1894 | Registered: Aug 2000
| IP: Logged |
quote: Alone in a box with nothing but the clothes on my back and enough water to last me 24 hours. And a little mat to sleep on. And a sleeping bag and a pillow. And an extra fleece in case it gets parky. And a mobile phone, for emergencies. And a couple of magazines and some books. And a radio. And some cashews.
and
quote: am woken two or three times by sharp pains, which I think might be pressure sores, but it turns out I am sleeping on my keys.
quote: 1pm Lunch is a pasta salad passed over the wall by a conspirator. It's preferable to allowing my body to cannibalise my own organs for nutrients, but only just. What is it about letting pasta go cold that makes it "salad"? The word has no meaning. I'm losing my grip.
I actually really like that David Blaine is doing these kinds of just-almost-plausible-enough-to-be-real stunts. It's almost like he's trying to be the anti-Copperfield. Copperfield says, "I will vanish the great wall of China and a good part of Tibet!" and so Blaine says, "I will hold real still for a long time." And then everybody pays attention to Blaine because it's a little easier to swallow.
And that means people are paying attention to magic, and that, of course, is a beautiful thing.
I think I'll get a guy in a box for my daughter's second birthday party.
Posts: 1894 | Registered: Aug 2000
| IP: Logged |
posted
The thing is that by this point, I don't think anyone really believes Blaine is going to spend 44 days in that box any more than any other magician really teleports themselves out of a box to another box before the first box gets crushed by elephants or barbequed by flames or whatever. The magician never stays in the box to begin with. People know this by this point. He'll roll out of a false siding in the back or the bottom and run over to another spot, or some other sleight of hand. The thing is is that the magic is moving fast enough that it's fun to watch. On some visceral level, you can't help but believe what your eyes are seeing and you can't help but be amazed.
Blaine staying in the box for 44 days is just silly, then, because there's no theater around it. I think for that visceral suspension of disbelief to happen, there must be a seamless chain of time in which the observer sees the magic transpire. Blaine goes in the box and then we go home...for another 44 days. Where's the wow? Where's the magic?
Posts: 13123 | Registered: Feb 2002
| IP: Logged |
posted
I always hated these big showy stunts...now, if you've seen some of Blaine's early shows, he does some really awesome little tricks...
Posts: 3658 | Registered: Jan 2002
| IP: Logged |
posted
Yeah. I totally agree. I heard he did an illusion a couple days a go where he appeared to cut off his ear. Posts: 13123 | Registered: Feb 2002
| IP: Logged |
Printer-friendly view of this topic
![[ROFL]](graemlins/rofl.gif)
![[Eek!]](eek.gif)
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
