Many musicians are stuck in the past and rely on tricks that are outdated and offensive, magician Cody Nichols said in his talk to a mass communication class at San Jose State on Thursday.
Although he said he loves to perform magic, Nichols said his main problem with the art form is that musicians do not make it relevant for a modern audience.
“Their minds are stuck in the golden age of magic and they haven’t learned to leave it,” he said.
Nichols explained that magicians were much more relatable during the 1900s, when their outfits tied them to their audience.
“Gentlemen would wear the top hat and the coat and the magician on stage wore the same outfit because it subconsciously told you, ‘These strange things are happening, but I look just like you, so that makes it even cooler,’” he said.
Nichols said magicians are usually awkward white men.
To demonstrate this stereotype, Nichols opened his lecture by asking the classroom to name a female or black magician and offered to pay $50 to anyone who could.
When no one answered, he said, “That’s why we’re doing this lecture.”
Although many female magicians had successful careers throughout history, Nichols said women are often confined to the role of “lovely assistant” during magic shows, which treats them more as a sexualized prop than a human performer.
“How often does the lovely female assistant in a magic show even get a name?” he asked.
Nichols said many magic tricks are rooted in an uneducated and racist view of Asia, like the “Chink-a-Chink” trick.
This trick uses a racial slur in its title that many magicians excuse by saying it refers to the sound of metal objects striking each other, because the trick involves a magician holding coins.
“Why do they gotta be Chinese coins if it is just about the sounds?” Nichols asked. “It’s ridiculous.”
Nichols encouraged students to go see shows by female and black magicians to show support and encourage inclusiveness, “even if magic is not your thing.”
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