Directly following the show, I actually felt Dive of Death was one of the best specials that aired in the past ten years. I felt this way because the magic was relatively undoctored and performances were genuinely spontaneous. I thought the overall feel of the cinematography and music was captivating and personal. The actual material he performed was creative and original. It reminded me of the early Blaine era that so many viewers fell in love with.
And then I let all those feelings settle over a couple days, listening to various laymen's points of view. It was then I felt it was evident that Blaine really lost whatever flare he had when he first made his debut years ago. It's unfortunate, but fairly accurate.
To deny the fact that Blaine isn't the same performer who intrigued the world by storm years ago would be defending a petty bias as magicians. As fellow performers who, by majority, follow in his footsteps-- we always want him to succeed and save magic in much the same way he did during his debut. David Blaine isn't that person anymore. That may be difficult to swallow, because he's a hero for a lot of modern magicians, particularly the younger fanbase. But it's true.
To laymen, Blaine's reputation degraded from a genuine miracle-worker, to a laughable South Park parody, to a ridiculous YouTube impression, to a disappointment in the UK, and ultimate failure in the US. In fact, to show the relation between Blaine's status with the public eye, a friend of mine recently took his midterm exams and amusingly said he "Blained them," meaning he unfortunately failed them all. Adding to this, his television ratings have reportedly plummeted due to a multitude of reasons. No one understands his image and no one cares to follow it. Only his fanbase appreciates what an "endurance artist" is. How does that relate to the magic that laymen want to see? Is he still a magician? Then why doesn't he just "magic" himself out of the challenge? He just stands in a box-- and then what? He can't hold his breath? What does this card trick have to do with being upside down? Forget it...
What made Blaine famous was what essentially killed him. He broke the golden KISS rule: Keep It Simple, Stupid. He became a household name with a simple image and performed simple magic. It was this simplicity that made him so refreshing. People responded really well to that. Unfortunately, he complicated matters with his stunts which not only detracted from the magic people wanted to see-- but also polluted his television appearances with unnecessary news fluff. The stunts became more difficult and Blaine, himself, couldn't live up to them. On top of that, no one understood why he was doing such ridiculous stunts to begin with! Although the magic in Dive of Death was reminiscent of his early days and even offered the same elecricity he used to inspire, I think it was ultimately too little too late... prior to messing up the stunt again.
It's unfortunate... but I think he's on his way to becoming a household has-been. Just my own opinion. I know I don't share it with many others.
Always,
RS.
And then I let all those feelings settle over a couple days, listening to various laymen's points of view. It was then I felt it was evident that Blaine really lost whatever flare he had when he first made his debut years ago. It's unfortunate, but fairly accurate.
To deny the fact that Blaine isn't the same performer who intrigued the world by storm years ago would be defending a petty bias as magicians. As fellow performers who, by majority, follow in his footsteps-- we always want him to succeed and save magic in much the same way he did during his debut. David Blaine isn't that person anymore. That may be difficult to swallow, because he's a hero for a lot of modern magicians, particularly the younger fanbase. But it's true.
To laymen, Blaine's reputation degraded from a genuine miracle-worker, to a laughable South Park parody, to a ridiculous YouTube impression, to a disappointment in the UK, and ultimate failure in the US. In fact, to show the relation between Blaine's status with the public eye, a friend of mine recently took his midterm exams and amusingly said he "Blained them," meaning he unfortunately failed them all. Adding to this, his television ratings have reportedly plummeted due to a multitude of reasons. No one understands his image and no one cares to follow it. Only his fanbase appreciates what an "endurance artist" is. How does that relate to the magic that laymen want to see? Is he still a magician? Then why doesn't he just "magic" himself out of the challenge? He just stands in a box-- and then what? He can't hold his breath? What does this card trick have to do with being upside down? Forget it...
What made Blaine famous was what essentially killed him. He broke the golden KISS rule: Keep It Simple, Stupid. He became a household name with a simple image and performed simple magic. It was this simplicity that made him so refreshing. People responded really well to that. Unfortunately, he complicated matters with his stunts which not only detracted from the magic people wanted to see-- but also polluted his television appearances with unnecessary news fluff. The stunts became more difficult and Blaine, himself, couldn't live up to them. On top of that, no one understood why he was doing such ridiculous stunts to begin with! Although the magic in Dive of Death was reminiscent of his early days and even offered the same elecricity he used to inspire, I think it was ultimately too little too late... prior to messing up the stunt again.
It's unfortunate... but I think he's on his way to becoming a household has-been. Just my own opinion. I know I don't share it with many others.
Always,
RS.
