Mentalism?

Sep 20, 2008
50
0
Israel
Hi I have a few questions about this area of magic, since all I know it is is to force a card and then it's all patter and performance of some mind reading show. I'm sure there is much more to it and would be interested in seeing some links or clips of live performances...
So what is there to mentalism beyond peeking a card or forcing a card and a heap of acting?
 
May 3, 2008
858
0
There's so much more to mentalism than that. For example you can have them draw a picture and not show anyone. Then you draw the exact same thing
 
Hi I have a few questions about this area of magic, since all I know it is is to force a card and then it's all patter and performance of some mind reading show. I'm sure there is much more to it and would be interested in seeing some links or clips of live performances...
So what is there to mentalism beyond peeking a card or forcing a card and a heap of acting?


Are you talking about Mentalmagic or Mentalism. If mentalism then i suggest you dive into some books...

Mentalism infact isnt really related to magic at all. Mentalism has evolved from psychs, to be exact people who saw or encountered a psych, thought that they would do a Mind reading routine and thus get money. It was in the era where Circuses were very very popular.

Most recent boom of Mentalism came from the 1920 - 1940 where the modern psychs started emerging and grabbing the market share very fast.

The first Mentalists didnt have any magic background at all and varied from Homeless dudes to Politics(i thought this example up myself, it is far fetched but its to show that there really were totally random people doing this).

You cant define Mentalism in words, at least it has not been done in my mind.
How i would define it is a mixture of Psychology and Showmanship. There are many thoughts on this, but you must be one to understand what it is.


I would appreciate if someone corrects my facts. These are things ive found over study of different books and Wiki.

Mikk
 
Sep 20, 2008
50
0
Israel
Yes, I'm aware how it's hard to explain, that's why I find it hard to understand too. Hence the reason I'm also asking for some links to clips or something showing me some examples of the broad range of mentalism, of course I won't assume those are the limits, but seeing some stuff will certainley widen my current limits of the deffinition of this area.
 
Yes, I'm aware how it's hard to explain, that's why I find it hard to understand too. Hence the reason I'm also asking for some links to clips or something showing me some examples of the broad range of mentalism, of course I won't assume those are the limits, but seeing some stuff will certainley widen my current limits of the deffinition of this area.


You still dont understand, you have to be a Mentalist to fully understand its purpouse...


But check out these guys:

Derren Brown(he has taken Mentalism to another level..)
Max Maven
Richard Osterlind
Banachek
...

Only a few of the big names, there are more but i think you can get some good viewing material off these guys...

Mikk
 
If you're interested in modern mentalism, I recommend you look into Banachek's work. I feel he's a dynamic blend between the traditional foundation of Tony Corinda and more modern acts like Derren Brown. If you study his books and videos, you'll find a wealth of information about the different types and genres of mentalism. Mentalism isn't just mindreading. It may also deal with feats of metal-bending, second-sight, premonition, spirit-communication, etc.

A few of my favorite (off-beat) mentalism effects to perform include:
1. Making a person forget the color of their shirt.
2. Being able to tell how many fingers a person is holding up over the phone.
3. Finding a hidden object in a room while blindfolded.
4. Predicting the score of a popular sports event.
5. Revealing a person's social security number or any similar secret.

If you want to see a great performance of diverse mentalism, I'm sure others will recommend Derren's show to you. He's phenomenal. He combines suggestion, hypnosis, and traditional magic to present a very refreshing angle of mentalism to modern audiences. After seeing his work, I think you'll find a new respect and appreciation for this area of the craft.

RS.
 
Sep 1, 2007
3,786
15
Some of the general categories of mentalism are mind reading, predictions, clairvoyance, necromancy, telepathy, probability alteration, thought control, and psychokinesis.

Mind reading. Pretty self-explanatory.

Predictions. Again, not much to explain here.

Clairvoyance. The ability to see over distances and through obstacles. Also known colloquially as remote viewing.

Necromancy. The ability to divine information through communication with the spirits of the deceased. In animistic cultures, variants on this are not limited to dead people.

Telepathy. Like mind reading but used as a form of communication.

Probability alteration. Not used very often, but simply put the ability to remove randomness from random chance by affecting the probability of an outcome closer to 1.

Thought control. What it sounds like. Not very common because of the implications.

Psychokinesis. Moving stuff with your mind.


General mentalism lacks the trappings and paraphernalia commonly associated with magic and illusions. It's typically an implicit experience. Exceptions exist. Sean Fields is known for making mentalism a more explicit experience and is fond of PK for that reason though his work is hardly limited to that.
 
Mar 6, 2008
1,483
3
A Land Down Under
I agree 100% with what Steerpike and RS said.

If we were to take your example of forcing a card and 'reading'' their mind. Yes it can be a very powerful effect however it is also a very easy trap to fall into. A lot of magician's who try to dabble in mentalism get stuck with it. But to audiences it still sees what you are doing is a trick. Especially if you use one of the less fair methods like the riffle force. Using a peek and/or a key card are a few of my favourite methods. But the real power of it is to give it a plausible context, and have the audience believe what you are either directly telling them or what you are saying between the lines. So when you talk about 'patter' to make people believe what you are doing it will take you a lot longer than getting that classic force reliable.
 
Oct 13, 2008
46
0
Mental effects can appear so powerful even your best sleight of hand trick that follows it is going to appear lame. Most magi have some kind of mental effect in their repertoire, though they may not be recognised as an exclusive mental effect. The Invisible Deck for instance, is a mental effect.

The best source for learning mentalism is undoubtedly 13 Steps To Mentalism by Corrinda, or alternatively you could look at Annemann's Practical Mental Magic. If you just want to add a few mental effects, Karl Fulves Self-Working Mental Magic is great fun. I don't know if you guys have heard of Paul Brook, but he's a fantastic Mentalist and his book The Alchemical Tools is one i think every magician who's serious about performing should read. He has some clips on Youtube if you're interested.

Forcing a card and then ' reading ' a mind would class as a mental effect but it's a classic example of not what you do but the way you do it. You need to get your acting chops down and let's face it, as magicians that's all we are. Imagine how it would feel to genuinely read someone's mind, and then put that into effect. You need to pile on the mystery and intrigue. Another factor is timing. Too many take too long over a simple mental effect, but remember they also shouldn't be rushed. Timing is crucial.

It's my own opinion that Mentalism is by far the most exciting and hard hitting of the various branches of magic, but it suffers from a tendency by the performer to dress like an idiot and take themselves too seriously. As mentioned here, Derren Brown is a great mentalist that seems to be able to retain humour and still make people believe he's a Jedi without feeling the need to dress like an undertaker.
 

Deechristopher

theory11 moderator
Moderator
Yo. Great info above, try spending a little time on google, if you type in mentalism, lots will pop up, then you'll start recognizing some other terms used alot, some from steerpikes list will crop up and almost play a word association game collected as much little bits of knowledge that you can.

This will also allow you to see which texts/dvds are most popular or considered 'essential' reading.

On a side note, grim mentioned paul brook above, he's a friend and phenomenal thinker - Alchemical tools is a fantastic book, Paul explores several techniques and nuances to improve performance as well as throwing in some cool effects too.

Mentalism often is very presentationally focused. A lot of the time you will find yourself forcing or peeking info, but it's building interesting demonstrations and an interesting character that is the foundational skill you will need to develop.

A good starting place would be my blog at www.papercranemagic.com - The first 5 articles are exploring building the character and I keep them in short sharp bursts so that it's not an intense read!

Good luck on your path!

D.
 
Mar 6, 2008
1,483
3
A Land Down Under
Dee cannot agree more Paul's work is unreal.

The first time I read the Brook Test is was laughing so hard. The method is amazing and it just makes you want to perform the effect. I understand that this would be stupid but I had to show the Mrs. and let me say she did not talk to me for the rest of the night. When I tried she all she could say is that you know what I am thinking anyway (women).

However when I read Alchemical Tools it sparked something that I thought I lost. And that is the drive to create the impossible but still keeping it believable. After reading it I scrapped almost everyone of my effects in my close up set, and re-did them all.

The only thing that I can say about the book (Alchemical Tools) is that it is for serious reading only. You have to take it all in and re-read it over and over again. However it is worth it as the book is already in my must have list with Prism and The Artful Mentalism.

Mentalism is a hell of a monster that as Phil Goldstein mentioned is the only branch of Magic that is still believable to the lay audience. For all of those who have Alchemical Tools will love the phrase the Paul signs on the back. And for those of you who don't have the book it is the same quote heard by the great Gordan Ramsey;

Make love to it, Don't **** IT!
 
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