Magic (447 hits)
Category: NoneRating: 1.6 on 10 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by MethodAlter (View user info) at 2009-03-16 18:41:56 EDT
When I was 7 my class went to a magic show at a small local theatre. Most of my classmates were excited, thrilled to see real magic. I didn't believe in magic, I didn't believe in much of anything.
The tricks were simple, starting with a few ring tricks, the magician joining and unjoining "solid" metal rings brought to him by his lovely assistant. No fancy pyrotechnics, no elephants, no explosives, no rare endangered tigers exploited for our amusement at a cost to their entire species, none of the things my classmates had been hoping for.
Then the magician brought out a wicker barrel, and instructed his assistant to get inside. She was hesitant, worried about the risk the following trick involved, but reluctantly he convinced her to enter. That's when he pulled out the first sword, and explained to us that if the magic failed, his beautiful assistant would suffer a horrible death.
He slowly stabbed the first sword through the side of the barrel, a light yelp, and the sword left the other side of the barrel. The second sword he inserted quicker, and seemingly carelessly. This time a cry of "Stop" was heard throughout the theatre. Dismissively he grabbed a third, shoving it through, and a fourth, and a fifth, rapidly stabbing through the barrel and out the other side, ignoring the crying coming from within.
When finally he inserted the 10th sword a pool of blood was visibly forming around the bottom of the barrel, and several of the blades had been stained. One by one he pulled them out, the sounds having stopped some time ago, and seemed to completely disregard the blood on the stage. With the removal of the final sword he opened the top, and smiled as his assistant stood up completely unharmed.
Everyone applauded except me. It was a trick, and a disgusting one at that. Why should I applaud disregard for human life? Why would anyone ever want to see that? But I kept quiet, my classmates were loving it and who was I to tell them they were wrong?
Then they announced the finale, he was going to saw his assistant in half. Again she seemed hesitant, but relented as he helped her into the wooden box.
"Wait!" She cried, "Please don't do this to me!" Frantically she began to look around, more theatrics of course, begging and pleading for her life like she was actually going to die then and there on stage. He began sawing into the box with an old rusted saw, while she begged for him to let her go. Blood began leaking from the bottom of the box, and she stopped moving, stopped complaining, pretended to be dead.
Finally he finished his work, cutting completely though the box. His saw and upper body were drenched with blood, as was the floor of the stage. He carefully pulled the 2 halves of the box apart, revealing mangled midsection of her body, and again everyone applauded. The magician bowed, and the curtains closed on the performance.
Tricks, theatrics, fake blood and misdirection. Magic didn't exist, it was all a trick.
User Reviews
Submitted by EmissionImpossible (user info) at 2009-03-18 13:59:55 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by Sidivan (user info) at 2009-03-18 13:09:53 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Lord of Illusions was one of my fav movies as a kid. Watch that and you'll know why it relates to this post.
+2 for the newspaper clipping.
Submitted by Brdn_Nkd (user info) at 2009-03-17 09:48:25 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Comment
Submitted by sage104 (user info) at 2009-03-17 09:17:58 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by sicosemen (user info) at 2009-03-17 08:37:52 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Um, okay. Thanks for sharing?
Submitted by Quint (user info) at 2009-03-17 01:06:41 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
This probably isn't Method, but this could be his Mom:
http://www.buzzfeed.com/percivalbright/mom-on-spring-break-3vd
Submitted by DonovanMD (user info) at 2009-03-16 21:00:07 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Television -- teacher, mother, secret lover!
-- Homer Simpson
Treehouse of Horror V
Submitted by RoadSong (user info) at 2009-03-16 19:20:36 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Magic
Submitted by orphelia (user info) at 2009-03-16 18:59:36 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Reminds me of that film Magicians.
Submitted by kaos-king (user info) at 2009-03-16 18:58:13 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Nice.
This would also explain a lot...