'Secrets of Magic' BBC

[Guest]

Today I received this e-mail, I think many people may find it interesting.

From: "Magicians Against Exposure" <magiciansagainstexposure@hotmail.com>

To all Magicians,
>
>Last Saturday (2/8) night's show 'Secrets of Magic' has caused great
>concern amongst many Magicians, both amateur and professional. In our
>opinion, the show does nothing more than glorify the exposure of magic,
>which ultimately undermines the livelihood of thousands of Magicians who
>are now, or in future could be, using the very same basic principles shown
>on this show.
>
>If you are a working professional Magician then no doubt you have been
>asked on many occasions how a trick is done. Ironically, it is normally one
>of the fellow audience members who points out that Magicians are not
>allowed to tell because this is against the rules of the Magic Circle.
>Could it be the layperson has a higher opinion of our ethics than our own
>Magic Circle Council? As a result of 'Secrets of Magic', and shows like it,
>is the layperson now to believe that there are no longer any rules
>regarding the exposure of Magic and that anything is 'fair game'. It is now
>up to the Magic Circle Council to act and prove this wrong.
>
>Apart from the fact that Magic should always be an amazing mystery, not a
>puzzle to be pulled apart and figured out, our main objection to 'Secrets
>of Magic' is that, along with the effect, basic principles of Magic are
>explained. With enough knowledge of Magic's principles the general public
>then has the necessary building blocks to come up with a feasible
>explanation. Whether they are correct or not is irrelevant as they will
>still spend more time trying to explain an effect than appreciating and
>enjoying it. Would you rather entertain people who gasp and applaud your
>amazing effect because they can't even imagine how it could be done, or
>people who sit back and say, "That was very good but I think you used
>either a folding coin, a trick bottom or a secret mechanism"???
>
>Also, just because an effect on 'Secrets of Magic' can be topped moments
>later, it does not mean that it is acceptable to expose a Magic principle
>that is used in other illusions. For example, do they have the right to
>explain Selbit's original sawing to the layperson just because they could
>then show a film of Copperfield performing the illusion without a box? I
>think not. If more 'Secrets of Magic' shows are in the pipeline, how long
>will it be before Black Art, Base principles, Mirror principles and other
>fundamental tools of the Magician are explained? Put simply, 'Secrets of
>Magic' and shows like it must be stopped.
>
>Sadly,' Secrets of Magic' was made with the knowledge and assistance of
>numerous members of the Magic Circle and Inner Magic Circle. At the very
>least, the Magic Circle Council must send out a clear message that they and
>their members will not tolerate the exposure of Magic, that the Magic
>Circle supports the preservation and protection of the secrecy of magic and
>its principles at all times and, to reflect this, I put it to you that all
>Magic Circle members involved with this show should be expelled without
>exception regardless of what they have achieved in the past.
>
>The issue now is the present and the future of Magic.
>
>What can you do?
>
>Reply to this email at magiciansagainstexposure@hotmail.com and send us
>your name and Magic Circle Degree and/or details of the Magic Club of which
>you are a member with the subject heading: "I am a Magician against
>Exposure".
>This will effectively provide us with a petition of names that will be
>presented to select Magic Circle Council members who have not been directly
>linked to Objective Productions in the past.
>With enough support, the Magic Circle Council will have to act on our
>concerns.
>If you would like to add any comments of your own in favour of our cause
>please feel free to do so and we will ensure that these are also passed on
>to the Magic Circle Council before their next meeting.
>
>Please also forward this email on to every Magician (worldwide) in your
>address book and give them the choice to reply and voice their concerns.
>
>Thank you for taking the time to read this email and I hope we can count on
>your support as a Magician against Exposure.
>

[Andy Hurst]

I'm currently back in the UK and saw this show and didn't think it did any harm at all. Unlike some of the US exposure shows, the secrets of magic show did a trick, had people guess how it was done and show a method, and then performed the trick again making it impossible for the first method to have been used.

I thought it was good to see something back on British TV that had magic in it, I watched it with my family and they were all left baffled by the 2nd performances where they had to use a different method or do another trick.

Andy

[Dale Shrimpton]

Andy, may i sugest that you log into the magicbunny, and read some of the postings on there regarding this dross.
It has had some impact on working performers. Jon Allen, for example has made a posting that doesnt bode well for all of us.
Comparing this programe with any other exposure show, and saying that it wasnt as bad, is like comparing murder with man slaughter. Both just as deadly , with the same results, but one just a smidgen more respected .
All exposure is bad for magic in one way or another, and untill we stop it,it will continue to drag magic down to the level of a puzzle.
Dale