Magicians Magic is seen everywhere, most people have been lucky enough to witness a great magic trick, which leaves them amazed. A magic trick is something that is hard to explain to one who has never witnessed one. For a child it could be the coolest thing they’ve seen, but to an adult it may seem kike a joke. A magician has the ability to trick their viewers into believing that what they have performed or achieved is impossible, only with the help of magic is it possible to achieve such great feat. Magic has become it’s own subculture and today magic shows are preformed through out the world. A magician values secrecy, creativity, and individualism. Magicians suggest that creativity gives them the ability to express themselves through their magic. There are plenty of subcultures that sick out from the crowd like punks, surfers, and bros, but magicians are not easily spotted walking about the streets. Magicians don’t have a particular way of dressing except when they’re on stage. Magicians wore flamboyant outfits, but they soon “abandoned the flamboyant costumes of the past and opted for a simple and elegant gentleman’s suit” (Lachapelle) As they begin a trick they often times roll up their selves, to show their audience that there were no tricks up their selves. The idea of creativity allows a magician to perform whatever trick they want, weather they have split someone in half or pull a rabbit out of a hat. The word creativity means no boundaries; to a magician it allows them to perform whatever insane trick they want on stage. Creativity is a value that many appreciate but magicians take it to the next level. Magicians saw themselves as scientific in their approach to magic and illusions. (Lachapelle) With the advent of what they called modern magic, magicians had begun their own space in which to establish their theaters. (320-321) By opening these theaters magicians now had the ability to show the illusions, which they created. Magic became a fast growing subculture and with so many theaters opening, magicians had to use their creativity to keep their audience coming back. Magicians understood themselves to be active promoters and protectors of science. (319) It is clear that magicians had to use creativity to create truly unbelievable tricks and illusions, with the help of science. Creativity is highly valued by magicians because for them magic is there life as soon as a magicians loses their creativity they in a sense lose their power, it’s like superhero who loses their powers their would be no reason for them anymore. As Davd Copperfield once said “The real secret is in the performance.” Many magicians have the same tricks but it’s how you creative you performance is to captivate your audience, your magical creativity is what makes the illusion or trick great. Creativity is the magic that pulls a man out of his own hat, but magic only exists because it a secret kept among all magicians. Secrecy is a huge part of magic, as sated before without it, magic would seize to exist. Secrecy is highly valued among magicians it what makes an illusion come to life. “Magicians explain the supernatural aspect of their acts as illusions created using natural means.” (320) Many other subcultures live by a code of some sort; something they can all connect to, for magicians, secrecy is their code. Magicians know that by revealing a trick they are not only hurting themselves but also their fellow magicians. Secrecy is part of the whole magicians package without it your not a magician. Most magicians will never show the same audience the same trick twice. A magician is allowed to perform a trick many times to various viewers but never to twice to one viewer it’s an unspoken rule among magicians. Secrecy is what makes the audience believe the in the magic. Exposure is claimed to "kill" magic as an art form and transforms it into mere intellectual puzzles and riddles. It is argued that once the secret of a trick is revealed to a person, he or she can no longer fully enjoy subsequent performances of the trick, as the amazement is missing. Sometimes the secret is so simple that the audience is let down they were taken in so easily. Keeping the secrets preserved the professional mystery of magicians who perform for money. De Vere a famous magician from the 19th century explained, “ that in order to do magic, two conditions were essential: … dexterity of hand and fingers and confidence in oneself.”
De Vere outlined five rules of conduct which many magicians still live by today. A good magician should never reveal detail of a tick. He should learn different approaches for each trick. He should never agree to perform a trick twice but never refuse to do it either. Before performing it in public, a trick should be practiced many times until it could be perfectly executed. Most importantly, magicians should always distract their spectators with words to draw attention away from their hands. (pp.3-5)
According to experiencefestival.com “most magical organizations require magicians to take an oath not revealing the secrets of magic to non-magicians.” The code goes as follows “As a magician I promise to never reveal the secret of any illusion to a non-magician, without first swearing them to the Magician's Oath. I promise never to perform any illusion for any non-magician, without first practicing the effect until I can perform it well enough to maintain the illusion of magic". It is clear the magicians hold secrecy in high regards, magicians even go as far as saying that if you revile your secrets you’re not considered a magician. Secrecy is key to magicians they wont existed without it as stated before. Magicians maybe their own subculture but their values are not much different from American values.