2013-03 Dennis' Deliberations

O tempora, o mores!

                                               -Cicero, Catilina I, 2-

We live in the Post-Modern Age.  Post-modern audiences seem to lack of any form of social manners.

I attribute it to the stress of quickly emerging cultural, economic and social changes. One psycho-social motivation for the lack of social graces may be: Individuals screaming for notice in a world where the things that used to bind us together are disintegrating. “Us” seems to be a verboten word. It is all about “Me”.

Characteristics of Post-Modernism in all the arts are : frustration, rage, arrogance, audacity, rudeness, individualism, the bizarre, loads of scorn, ridicule and sadistic playfulness. These not only hold in magic but in music ( Maroon 5), film (Tarantino) ,TV (AGT), politics (Limbaugh, Beck), cartoons (Simpsons, Southpark), personal body decoration (tattoos, scarification, piercings), architecture ,modern literature and graphics (Wired Magazine).

We now experience much of our lives in imposed cyber-isolation. Clapping and an audience response comes from a physically assembled group. Electronic connections are not interpersonal connections. Even a two-way talk radio show is heard while the listener is alone in an air-conditioned automobile and they hear a carefully crafted presentation that forbids any contradiction with the viewpoints of the host.  The old-time “front-porch” was where people gathered and looked into and  watched other’s faces and learned that listening and reacting was a skill.  Our minds are being conditioned to programmed cyber-stimulation and we lose the personal connection. Look at the magical arts. A David Blaine and Street Magic is designed for one-on-one and a personal response. It is highly edited and demands no reaction. You don’t “clap”. You say, “Do that again, for ME!” or “How did YOU fool ME?” or “How did you do that?” 

I heard from Bev Bergeron and Dan Stapleton about Penn and Teller’s recent show at the Hard Rock Café in Orlando. They both loved it. As you probably know, I have always been hypercritical of Penn and Teller. I just never warmed up to their style. After hearing from Orlando, I think that I have a handle on my problem.

I think I knew the answer all along but just don’t want to admit it. I just have problems with Post Modernism.

I believe that it is their appeal is reflective of Post-Modern Magic.

Like 'em or hate 'em, the thoroughly Post-Modern , Penn Gillette does has turned both him and his partner into multi-millionaires.   In his books ( okay, I copped a look at Barnes and Noble without buying)-- he constantly berates himself with self-deprecating comments and humor, such that you realize he is very much aware that he is, indeed, a freak, both mentally and physically; he thinks he has a goofy name, and that he detests the fact that he is a 280-pound, 6 ft. 7 inch bizzaro who walks around like a dumb boxer, and dresses like a total slob (when not working), and has all kinds of degenerate friends (not his regret), and is a walking, talking, loud-mouthed "grab-bag" of opinions and feelings, most of which he admits freely to not being formally "schooled" for.  He constantly says how incredibly fortunate he is to be earning an insanely lucrative living, in a world where most everybody else is stuck in insufferably dead-end jobs and with bosses they detest but have to answer to.

So… is he ACTUALLY the obnoxious blowhard that he appears to be? Well, YES, and NO: As much as Penn's distasteful persona seems to be an intrinsic part of the man (and it is), he also admits to an apparently self-calculated schizophrenic nature: He is actually rather "normal" (should I remove the quotes?) in his private life, at home with the wife and kids, around Teller when they are planning new effects and strategies, and with his many friends and associates.  

And I'm sure he and Teller are acutely aware that there are hundreds of magicians not understanding how they've become so successful, not understanding what Penn's "obnoxious" behavior is doing for them [$$$], and not understanding some of the most basic psychology of the post-modern entertainment business. They are people like me who either reject or detest Post-Modernism.

Penn & Teller have always been deeply appreciative of their fans. After every show, says Penn, they go out into the lobby and spend at least an hour meeting the audience, chatting to them, signing autographs, posing for photos, and… well, just being darn nice guys. Penn adds, "What the hell else do we have to do with our time?"   (As he tells it: One of those female fans came up to him after a show and waxed ecstatically about how she was an atheist and skeptic, and 'name-dropped' atheists like Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens and others; and then, hung around until everyone else had left, and offered to take him out for coffee.  Penn joked, "You know,stalkers don't bother me in the least. Hell, I married one!". 

Meanwhile, the so-called "bad boys of magic" are down in Vegas loving every minute of their existence, and rolling in cash.

They know the formula. I just don’t like it.