Life, the Universe, and Everything…
The other day I was confronted with a question. As humans are inclined to do, I have come up with a much better answer now than the one I actually gave.
Who are you, Matt, to be criticizing magic? Are you an accomplished magician? Are you a famous personality? Are you… Are you… It doesn’t really matter who I am. I could list all of the credentials that would prove I am qualified, but who knows. They could be just “so much fluff”, you know, like your résumé. So instead of making something of myself, and possibly explaining why I am hypothetically qualified to rate your magic, I offer the following perspective:
I am the guy who paid ten bucks to see your show. I’m the guy who took his family out to a restaurant for some peaceful family time. I’m the guy waiting for the bus during your “street” routine, you know, when you were being a David Blaine wannabe and forcing your magic on the lady with two kids, a shopping bag, and a deadline.
I’m not the smartest guy in the world, but I can certainly spot the difference between professionalism and arrogance, between your love of magic and your love of hearing yourself talk. I can tell the difference between a rehearsed act and an improvised mess.
Please understand me. I don’t need to be psychic to be able to tell if your magic is all about me, or if it’s all about you.
And when I’m at that table with my family spending my hard earned money to have a great time with the people I love, I don’t have to be an expert to know whether it was a positive or a negative experience. I don’t have to have credentials to understand if I liked you or not. I don’t have to have a bio in the entrainment industry to know if you offended me, swore in front my kids, and hit on my wife.
On the positive side, neither do I need any of these things to know that I liked you as a person. Or that you were thoroughly entertaining even if you couldn’t get a trick right. And remember, when you made my kids giggle and act so cute, you won me over right then and there…because you assisted me in accomplishing my goal, of showing my family a fun time.
This is the answer I wish I had given. It is the answer I will provide from now on.
I rate so many more tricks than are contained in the limited posts on this blog. But there are so many common errors, I don’t want to get dry and dusty. If you’re doing magic on YouTube, I’ve probably seen you. I’ve probably rated you, at least in my mind. What do you think I said about YOUR stuff?
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