As I explain in my
intro to Mentalism treatise as well as the intro to
Bizarre Magick, "Mental Magic" are routines/effects that obviously look "rigged" from the on-set and more often than not, involve a physical prop of some kind. Great examples would be Mental Epic and most any of the Smash & Stab routines of current vogue as well as Larry Becker's Casino Royale. IN other words, it's a magic trick with a Psychic-like theme to it. BUT, there is another side to this factor and that is where bits like Smash & Stab or the Mental Epic have been seen so many times in a Magic Show that they are no longer viable when it comes to presenting them as plausible paranormal phenomena or mental prowess a.k.a. what was once great Mentalism that magician's ruined for mentalists.
I was recently talking about "visual" effects for mentalists to which most would instantly talk about PK type phenomena. The problem is, we have clowns doing spoon & fork bending on the streets, as part of a close-up act in which they just did sponge balls and a Magic Ding Dong kicker or they're twisting balloons . . . I'm not putting magicians down but I am pointing out how they have little regard when it comes to crossing over into mentalism and "borrowing" the good stuff. . . Greg Arce has a famous parable of sorts that basically states that a magician attending a Mentalism program will see a routine that gets huge audience response so he figures a way of doing it and puts it into his show. Yet, you won't seen a devoted Mentalist doing Assembling Aces or a Dancing Cane in his act. . . it just wouldn't fit, now would it?
A lot of what has become "Mental Magic" has known this particular path to destruction . . . it's why I and a growing number of others, encourage folks to pick one or the other. It's more convenient for the talent buyers to know so they can book you with confidence and it keeps you from looking like a hack that will do anything for a C-note.
There is one other circumstance that creates Mental Magic and that's the one we have no control over; social education.
The people my parents generations were ultra-religious for the most part, many had less than a high school level worth of education and they lived in an Ozzie & Harriet world in which cops & politicians were honest servants of the people and priests were so holy that they wouldn't hurt a fly (nuns on the other hand, would beat anyone to a pulp). I'm not saying that they were gullible but they were far more trusting and willing to take a person at their word than we are today; they didn't have a reason to be jaded and distrusting of persons of "authority" and when you consider we'd not yet shot the first rocket into space let alone land on the moon. . . well, it really was a different kind of world and as such, seeing a Pseudo-Psychic experiment involving a deck of playing cards was acceptable and quite believable. Today however, that same demonstration wold be faced with heightened cynicism in that today's culture is far more educated, suspicious and not nearly as religiously oriented as they were then.
Since the latter 1970s the majority of your top rated Mentalists did all they could/can, to avoid material that looked like a possible magic trick/Mental Magic which includes some wonderful card routines that worked in the 40's, 50s' and 60's but barely scrape by now days . . . even in the 1980s they were being seriously challenged BUT, when the facade of Playing Cards were replaced with photos or post cards the believability factor returned to the very same effect born within a deck of traditional cards.
Not all of us are 100% against playing cards, but a lot of us recognize how said vice comes off to the public mind more than not. We also know how the yet recovered Mage who wants to do Mentalism, has such a terrible time waking up to the fact that
most Mentalism done with Playing Cards are viewed by the laity as a CARD TRICK and not something miraculous e.g. they fit the mold of being Mental Magic.
Magician's Habit, such as leaning on Playing Cards, creates a psychological association in the mind of the audience that also causes their entire show to come off as being "Mental Magic". Understand, this is not all bad in that Mental Magic is far, far more entertaining and lucrative than pure Mentalism. The habit however, of always having a successful outcome hurts more than helps; psychologically the public views the performer that "always wins" as being a fraud while those that have close or even totally wrong hits tend to be given credit for being the real thing.
No, I'm not saying you "must" screw up . . . trust me, Mr. Murphy will give you more than enough situations to have a miss or worse. But take a look at the top two person teams out there and how there is almost always a mis-call on an item or other type of deliberate "mistake" that will later get corrected in some bassackward manner.
Mentalism in its purest form can be down right boring. When it comes to creating a solid 45+ minute program you MUST include bits of Mental Magic (a.k.a. ENTERTAINMENT) mixed with the less easily discovered stuff, like a Q&A or Psychometry demonstration. I've done some very BIG production bits in the show for the sake of Production Value and Amusement; Doing a Blizzard & Chinese Snow Storm as a bit of Mentalism. . . Staging a Poison Monte routine as a Game Show . . . using medieval era sets & costumes in a comedy "Banknight" type sequence.
While these things do reveal my previous incarnation as a stage illusionist, they are each examples of Mental Magic done "right" -- used as a way to punctuate your program and give it character. . . an approach worthy of some time for pondering upon. . .