by Mr_Grue » Nov 5th, '12, 17:27
I find this effect quite fascinating because, having spoken to a few magicians about it, there seems to be a fairly standardised reaction - they at once see the possibilities for the effect in terms of byplay and banter, and absolutely see the very strong commercial applications for it, but at the same time, kind of don't like it.
Who it was exactly escapes me at present, but someone had said "it's entertaining, but is it magic?" (come to think of it, that might have been the WPR) and that's the real nub. The effect proposes what is a false methodology, that men and women will react to different images in different ways. This is potentially too convincing. It's perfectly feasible, considering the pseudo-scientific talk of man-brains and woman-brains, that we really do have gender-aligned biases when it comes to picking out our cucumbers from our hand-cuffs. One reaches the end of the effect, and "ta-da", the images have been correctly separated, but you've already given a believable, real-world reason of why this happens. At best it's "clever" rather than "wow".
OOTW is probably one of the most powerful things you can do with a deck of cards, but I don't think Genetics is as powerful, despite it being ostensibly the same trick. It robs the effect of its magic, however many giggles were had along the way. Is it possible to tug the rug from beneath this methodology and still have fun with it? Is it possible to make it a magical effect again, without killing the mirth?
I think it might be possible.
Begin as normal with initial success, but then try and "go one better" by having the participants responding to the images without being able to see them, but where everyone else can see then. This might be getting somewhere. Blocking for this would take a little doing (the participants mustn't see the images *or* the backs), but the tension in having to make these decisions sight-unseen, the potential humour arising from any byplay that hinges on everyone knowing what the performer is talking about apart from the participants, and the final revelation that, in spite of all this, they still managed to separate out the "right" images, ought to pay dividends.
Just my tuppenceworth.
Just my tuppenceworth.
Simon Scott
If the spectator doesn't engage in the effect,
then the only thing left is the method.
tiny.cc/Grue