I`m also interested in the fact that magic has been a part of the world famous Hollywood since ever
True, but neither Johnny Carson, Cary Grant, Woody Allen nor Dick Cavett were famous for being magicians, nor did they rise to fame as magicians before moving on. I'd imagine stamp collecting has been part of Hollywood forever as well.
So what is the real problem?
At the risk of becoming even less popular, here's my honest opinion.
It's the generally low level of craft. Forums are crowded with people
just finding out that scripting is a necessity, and posts like
"I booked a gig, and don't have an act - please help!" This hurts us all; when someone who just isn't ready does hackwork at a gig, it paints every one of us with that same brush.
Related to this is the contempt for learning through imitation - beginners are being told to
'make up their own' far too early for my money. There's no encouragement to learn a solid, time-tested routine, perform it and learn why the masters built it as they did. True mastery begins as imitation; every guitarist learned someone else's material first. Actors say lines other people wrote, and a director shapes their performance. Dancers copy other dancers for ages before they create. Why is this the only performing art where someone with less than a years' experience is supposed to come up with the material as well as perform it?
There's little focus on the performance aspect of the craft. When was the last time you read a really good thread on acting technique? Or on Stanislavski's advice to actors to read out loud? On voice training or technique? There's plenty on "which tricks do you do" or "what's the best torn and restored card".
Also, there's a laziness in terms of using good language. Misusing words, mispronunciation, poor sentence structure and made up words never put you in a good light. Not a lot of people will bust you for using 'who' when it should be 'whom,' but at least try to use real words (it's agreement, not agreeance; regardless, not irregardless). And for Pete's sake, proofread printed materials carefully; a typo on a business card, letter or website screams "lazy, unprofessional hack."
Magic suffers from its secrecy; as such, there's no real unified theory on magic (as there is in music; d flat minor means one thing only, and everybody knows exactly what). I've seen threads go on for pages as people argue the definition of gaff vs gimmick, on the difference between effect and plot, on routine, etc. We can't even agree on the terms, let alone what it is we are trying to accomplish, how we best do it, and a predictive model that will guide our efforts.
Additionally, magic is a fringe art, and it has been for a long time now; granted, the fringe expands (Blackstone, Thurston, Houdini, etc.) but generally it's on the edges. It's like sideshow; it's best when it isn't too big. If there were a ton of kids doing Human Blockhead, bed of nails, or sword swallowing at the mall for cell phone cameras, it would cheapen those as well, possibly kill them.
When it gets too big, the talent is spread too thinly, and the level of craft goes down. It's like comedy clubs in the 80's - everyone was opening one, and they needed talent. There weren't enough good comedians to fill all the dates, so they had to book whomever they could - and that killed the comedy club boom.
