ARTICLES
Magic Ethics
By
Irv Cook
How many times have I told a customer, " We sell secrets, you can't return a secret." That is a magic ethic, that we here at Daytona Magic try to adhere to. Sometimes we have to break our own ethic because of good business practices. An example of this would be a customer who regularly buys from us, calls and tells us that he just can't use the effect he bought (it is too hard for him to do) and wants to exchange it for something else. We figure that the customer is a magician who really wants to improve what he is doing and really can't use the item. We don't expect this person to tell his friends about how this effect is done.
On the other hand a tourist comes into our shop and asks to see a trick. One of my demo-people sells them a Svengali deck after showing them a few tricks. After the customer makes the purchase, he leaves the store and examines his deck out on the sidewalk. He comes back in and says that he thought he would be able to "play cards" with the deck. If you know anything about magic, you know that a Svengali deck is a trick deck, and you can't use it to play cards. We hold fast and won't let the customer, "return the secret."
You have a responsibility as a magician or hobbyist to protect the secrets of magic. Over the years many people have made themselves a lot of money by exposing magic secrets. They haven't made themselves more popular, in fact they usually hide their identity. An example of this is what Fox TV does by exposing magic secrets. It is a sad commentary on the times we live in. Almost anything is perceived as entertainment. There is no such thing as real magic! It's tricks, entertainment, and skill of the performer. Does an audience enjoy it more when they see two skilled performers doing the Houdini Metamorphous Trunk, because they know how it is done? I think not! I think they enjoy it less.
There are those magicians who find it cute to expose a thumb-tip, and then do the same effect with a slight of hand move to prove their superiority. What they don't realize is how many people they destroy who depend on the thumb tip. The world champion of boxing, Mohammed Ali once exposed a thumb tip in England. He brought shame to himself and was removed from a famous magic club. I doubt if that would happen today,. We live in a crazy age where entertainment is seeing people killed in shows like "World's Greatest Accidents."
Magic, as an art will survive. It will get past the Fox Network's tasteless shows. We will do new effects. The Illusion professionals will be more careful and find ways to protect their secrets. The public will move on and realize that they rather not know everything.
Do your part. Next time someone asks you, How do you do that? Ask them, "Can you keep a secret?" When they respond, "yes." Tell them, "so can I!"
