Dove Ilusionist
- Thread starter SeaBreeze
- Start date
SifuPhil
R.I.P. With Us In Spirit Only
- Location
- Pennsylvania, USA
He's pretty good, technically speaking.
Here's a mini-rant ... I wonder exactly when it was that magicians stopped dressing elegantly and began looking like street-thugs?
For thousands of years magicians were among the most stylishly and impressively dressed among the performing arts, always appearing in first ceremonial robes and, much later in the Victorian era, in proper evening clothes. Even as late as the "Golden Age of Magic" (1875-1948) magicians wore tuxedos or morning coats as a matter of routine.
So when did they start looking like homeless people?
Magic began it's slow slide into oblivion in the '50's, when television became the prime mode of entertainment. In 1962 Johnny Carson began as host of The Tonight Show and with it came his love of conjuring.
Still, he was always dressed in a simple yet elegant suit.
Maybe it was The Magic Show, a 1974 Broadway play featuring Doug Henning as a youthful magician who dressed in the height of hippie fashion with bell-bottomed jeans, a flowery shirt and a beaded sash worn as a belt.
The last decade has seen almost every single stage magician dressed (when they ARE dressed - many perform nearly nude in Vegas) like either bikers or terrorists. They want to appear young and hip, to appeal to their target crowd that also has forgotten how to dress.
Yet again another example of how modern entertainment, in seeking to appeal to the lowest common denominator of the public, has re-created itself in hobo chic.
Here's a mini-rant ... I wonder exactly when it was that magicians stopped dressing elegantly and began looking like street-thugs?
For thousands of years magicians were among the most stylishly and impressively dressed among the performing arts, always appearing in first ceremonial robes and, much later in the Victorian era, in proper evening clothes. Even as late as the "Golden Age of Magic" (1875-1948) magicians wore tuxedos or morning coats as a matter of routine.
So when did they start looking like homeless people?
Magic began it's slow slide into oblivion in the '50's, when television became the prime mode of entertainment. In 1962 Johnny Carson began as host of The Tonight Show and with it came his love of conjuring.
Still, he was always dressed in a simple yet elegant suit.
Maybe it was The Magic Show, a 1974 Broadway play featuring Doug Henning as a youthful magician who dressed in the height of hippie fashion with bell-bottomed jeans, a flowery shirt and a beaded sash worn as a belt.
The last decade has seen almost every single stage magician dressed (when they ARE dressed - many perform nearly nude in Vegas) like either bikers or terrorists. They want to appear young and hip, to appeal to their target crowd that also has forgotten how to dress.
Yet again another example of how modern entertainment, in seeking to appeal to the lowest common denominator of the public, has re-created itself in hobo chic.
Ina
Well-known Member
- Location
- Harris County, NE of Houston, Tx.
Good rant Phil. :wave:
That Guy
Homegrown Unknown
- Location
- Monterey Bay
