Richard Kaufman wrote:Somehow I think the point here, at least my point, has become obscured.
I think Geller is the greatest close-up magician of the last 50 years. Why? Because people believe he does real magic. Isn't that what being a magician is all about.
It has nothing to do with telling fortunes, or psychic surgery, or any silly stuff like that.
Everyone has their own taste: I found that watching Penn & Teller fire pistols at each other on stage to be nauseating. They pretended it was real, but it seemed completely fake to me (obviously there's no danger because they have another show to do the next night, and they've done this hundreds of times before).
I find the idea of firing a real and supposedly loaded gun at at another person on stage, live, incredibly offensive. Think of all the people killed by gun violence, suicide, and misadventure every day--do you think that any of the families of these people who happen to find themselves in the audience think the spectacle of watching two guys firing guns at each other is even remotely amusing? Not only is it bad magic, it's bad showmanship and a lousy anti-climax to an otherwise excellent show. And you can tell by the reaction it gets from the audience, which is demonstrably less than a lot of their stronger material receives.
I don't find any of what Uri Geller does in his motivational speeches, where he does magic (he calls them "demonstrations") to be even the tiniest bit offensive. You're free to react or relate to what he does with whatever intelligence you possess.
All of that aside, I will repeat again that, in my opinionm he has stepped over the line a few times in the past. Once may have been something about locating a missing child decades ago. He seemed to have realized this was an error and avoided saying anything of that type until recently. I would say that he stepped over the line of what most of us would consider good taste and decency by making any statements whatsoever about this missing airplane that has apparently crashed in the ocean for unknown reasons.
As far as his being paid to be a "psychic geologist": if someone was dumb enough to give me a pile of money to guess where valuable elements are located on the planet, I would take it and go do some scientific research. Sometimes you strike gold, or oil, or whatever, by luck, and sometimes through hard work. It doesn't matter how you get the job, only if you succeed. Success brings more work in the area, failure not so much.
I like the fact that I can agree and disagree so readily with one post. Almost like a coversation, huh?
I believe you to be 100% correct on Geller. OK, so, personally, I find him dull. Yet, he has done what he needed to do to make himself known. There may be jelousy at play. Certainly, I would love to have been able to get the publicity that he got in his heyday.
On the bullet catch, I find it anticlimatic rather than nausiating. It seems like a let-down as a conclusion to such a high energy show.
I really have nothing new to add to this part of the discussion but opinion. I don't think that video games, TV, or songs contribute to violence. I don't think "dirty words" (although I choose not to use them) contribute to the downfall of society. I don't think that a bullet catching trick, where the two performers have stated on multiple occasions how key their safety was in developing the effect, treats gun problems lightly.
And I still don't think Geller did anything wrong in asking for help with an international situation.
Love to all.....
-MJ
) was interviewed on South African TV and asked about the missing Malaysian plane. He respectfully diverted the conversation away from that topic.
