Abstract
The global COVID-19 pandemic has compelled magicians to reconsider how they engage audiences. The pivot to online delivery platforms has served as yet another occasion in the history of this art form to consider long running questions about its aims and means. This article elaborates the reasoning behind one effort to produce an online, Zoom-based resource prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic; namely a series of interactive recorded performances titled The Magic of Social Life. It does so in two parts: (i) outlining the rationale for a form of academic magic that seeks to turn commonplace social practices and conventions into topics for discussion, and (ii) elaborating how this form of magic was adopted to promote reflection on technologically mediated forms of social interaction. Through examining the choices and commitments associated with both parts, this article considers the possibilities for how magic can function as method for understanding ourselves and others.
Keywords
Zoom, magic, skill acquisition, learning, deception
How to Cite
Rappert, B., (2021) “The Magic of Social Life”, Journal of Performance Magic 6(1). doi: https://doi.org/10.5920/jpm.840
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