You can imagine my surprise when only a few minutes in to Penn & Teller’s MasterClass on magic I suddenly realized, “I like this?”
You see, I’m a stand-up comedian. And the only group of people we get to unrelentingly make fun of is magicians. In some ways, magicians are the last unprotected demographic of which nobody cares how they are insulted, mistreated and / or discriminated against. It’s still perfectly acceptable for audiences, comics or anybody else above the bottom rung of the social hierarchy to bash an aspiring magician as he attempts to live his dream.
So after witnessing this a couple times, I set out to discover what about magic is so alluring that it would coax people into this life of ridicule and abuse. I enrolled in Penn & Teller’s MasterClass to learn the craft of magic and to understand this intriguing class of people.
And guess what I found — Magic is awesome! It’s the perfect cross section of psychology, suspense, misdirection, history and showmanship and it’s flawless execution is nothing short of miraculous. Having just a little bit of knowledge about the strategy and technique behind magic will allow me to better appreciate both magic shows and magicians themselves.
So here’s my take away — Learning about a culture can turn ignorance into appreciation and respect.
And here’s my challenge — Find a group of people that you have looked down upon and find a way to learn about them. Ideally learn directly from them through a face-to-face relationship, but if that’s too difficult, read a book, watch a movie or enroll in a MasterClass.
If it’s magicians you need to learn about, check out Penn & Teller’s MasterClass on Magic. here’s a link to get $20 off.
And if it’s people in recovery, Christians, OWG’s or comedians you need to learn about, shoot me a note. I’d love to connect.
#EnjoyYourJourney - Aaron Sorrels, The Unemployed Alcoholic
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