thanks for keeping this about Criss, lets look at your comments
I am staying on topic. I've been on topic for 3 separate threads.
I said that Angel is famous because he has no competition. Think back to before even Blaine was really well known. The person who brought magic back to the social consciousness was the Masked Magician.
How can that be? That shows you how bad and wrong our culture is.
Actually, that's not true. The WGM specials were major ratings successes. Unreal, really. In fact, this spurned several other magic variety shows on cable TV (most of them poorly produced) and even the tremendous PBS and A and E specials on the history of Magic.
It was because of this success that the MM came along.
As to Angel's competition, it's hard to compete when he has a clause in his contract that prevents A and E or any of it's sister networks from producing shows with magic content.
Now, as Steer has pointed out, we can ask why did Angel come along and what competition did he have at the outset? Well, the answer to that is Blaine. Angel did not come on the scene with the MindFreak series. First, he appeared on one of those magic variety shows and then was featured in a TV show (sponsored by WWE who was letting him do a show in their basement at the time) where he did none of the material that made him interesting, but instead took the BLaine formula.
Ultimately, this special was a giant commercial for the WWE (then WWF) restaurant in Time's Square. Magic specials are known to be inexpensive to produce (partly because so many magicians are so desperate that they will work for almost nothing) and this was probably the most cost effective way for WWE to procure an hour of prime time advertising for it's latest commercial venture.
Of course, once people have footage they become so much more hire-able. Angel parlayed that special into the Mindfreak series. Good for him.
Angel has been able to capture millions of fans around the world.
I have to ask for some support for this statement. I am not aware than Angel has any sort of international following, and we have had people on this forum corroborate that he is unknown in England. The premeire of season 5 pulled only 1.2 million viewers. And then, there are the demogrpahics of htis viewership.
Does he have millions of fans? Are these fans people whose opinions we as people who care about magic should respect? Ashton Kutcher has more than a million twitter followers, but I don't know if he is someone a fledgling actor should want to emulate.
What exactly are you saying when you claim Angel has millions of fans.
Are you saying he is a celebrity?
yes. We've established that. And if one wants to be famous, he might be a good model. But is that what you are trying to tell us we should want to do - be famous?
HHe has his critics, just like every other well known celebrity in other industries. There are people who didn't like Michael Jackson, he's been made fun of plenty, but that doesn't mean he didn't have a great impact on music.
Michael is a bad example because, let's face it, things kind of turned psycho in the later years. Of course, there will always be detractors because many people have a push back against fame.
But I think when you divorce the crazy celebrity aspect from the conversation and consider just the music, I think you find a lot of really positive commentary from both fans AND people in the music industry who recognize Jackson for his innovations, artistry and contributions.
When I do a google search on criss angel reviews, all I find are negative reviews. (Except one - from a magician, ironically).
I will not deny Criss has fans. I will ask, where are reviews from established critics who are not reading from press releases or are paid to do puff pieces (ie entertainment tonight, people, access etc)
So on topic: Angel has an ability to be cool, relevent, and engaging to his audience. He can command a large audience, his style and edge appeals to a wide audience today.
Have you seen Believe? I did. I saw the people walking out. I saw the people asking for refunds. I read the reviews of the show - not from magicians, but from real theater people.
I was there when Criss berated the audience for not applauding enough and even called us a profanity.
I don't know that the statement that he can command a large audience is true, especially given the results of his Cirque show. And while you say his style appeals to a wide audience, I ask, who are they?
What demographic likes Criss?
And how do you define wide? More people watched babies farting in a tub than his premiere of MindFreak.
Does he reach more than some magicians - yes. But how many people does he appeal to? What is that number and from where did you get it?
What magicians do today doesn't work....as apparent by the showing at the David Letterman show. Great magicians, but completely irrelevent to connecting with the audience.
First, this post ignores the central problem of presenting closeup magic on television. Magicians for decades have wrestled with this, and really, it was Blaine who figured it out.
Very smart.
I can't ever think of closeup magic resonating from TV. And if you followed any of the stories on the Letterman week, then you know what these performers were up against.
Do you think it fair to judge people who were not allowed to define any aspect of their performance environment and who had to contend with Dave, known for being very challenging for magicians?
So, I don't think this is the example we should use. Closeup magic is meant to be experienced closeup. (Now if you want to restrict this conversation to magic on tv we can, but what a tiny tiny discussion that would be.)
If closeup magic as done by magicians today didn't resonate with people, then why is there a company who regularly sends out sleight of hand workers to uber high end parties at fees in the 4 and 5 figures for a nightly appearance?
If closeup magic as presented today didn't resonate with people, then why is there a magician who regularly performs for head's of state and some of the wealthiest people in the world each weekend at some of the finest hotels on the planet?
Sure, these people may not be household names, but I don't think we can conclude - simply because they do not have a tv show - that their work fails to resonate with people.
Bottom line: We all can learn from the body language, speaking style (not the lisp), pausing, movements, etc from Angel. I've learned a ton of that from Copperfield.
I am again reminded of the point made by Teller - one of the smartest, most artistic, and successful magicians on the planet. (Do you wonder if he ever thinks he hasn't "made it" because he isn't featured on TMZ?)
We can learn from everyone. And while we can pick up what we like, ultimately we produce better art by avoiding what we hate. Copying leads to similarity. And while being similar to something may make people feel comfortable (and easier to land a tv show) i don't know if it produces good art.
Is it better to look back on your life having stayed true to your vision or compromised to get on the list at a club that won't be around next week?
The bashing doesn't help us, instead we have to focus on why what Angel does works, because what we are doing doesn't. I don't care if he threatens to punch a camera man out and I don't care he is being sued by someone....that's the life of celebrities. Instead I want us to focus on why people like him make it despite not having perfect technical ability.
And you know what? If Angel is a bad word, replace everything I said with Cyril. Same thing over there for that guy...he's great. But so, so few of us make it despite our years of hard work....there's a reason why.
Excellent . . .so, what's the reason?
What specifically has Angel done that resonated so well with the people? You say he is edgy, Is being edgy the answer? What makes him edgy? Is it yelling at the camera or telling us stuff is extreme when it doesn't look extreme? Are these things also the things that turn so many people off? Does that matter? Is this something that others could use? At what point does the number of people you turn off outweigh the number of people to whom you appeal?
These are great questions and I hope we explore them.
And heck, let's look at Cyril too - what did Cyril do well that resonated so well with the people? (I think I know this one, I do not have an answer for the previous)
What specifically made them the success you feel they are?
I look forward to hearing your answer.