Ethics, Magicians, and audience participants

So if I want to do a psychology experiment involving anything that lives, I have to clear it with an ethics panel, and show that I am not in violation of any ethical guidelines (which are laid out in a specific written form). I have to contend with informed consent, minimal use of deception, doing no harm to participants, and a whole heap of other things, all of which is designed to protect participants in research from any infringements on their rights to be treated with respect and dignity. Children and animals are also protected with specific ethical guidelines.

Magicians, on the other hand, grab audience members who are dragged into the spotlight with no idea what to expect. They may be insulted, humiliated, treated as little more than props and in some cases even put at risk. To the casual observer, they seem to have no particular concern for their interactions with audience members who are there to be entertained.

Magic to me is a wondrous thing, and I like for people to share in my joy of it. Hard to do if some people, smiling through gritted teeth in an effort to not be a bad sport, only regard magic as a source of humiliation and pain.

Now I don't want to overgeneralise here. Most professional magicians and experienced amateurs may well not do these things, but some do. In most professions that deal with people there are codes of ethics governing these kinds of interactions. Sometimes I think that it would be valuable to encode ethical standards on such matters in order to protect magicians and all they deal with.

So in dealing with audience participants what might such a code of ethics look like?

3.0 Audience participants
3.1 All participants to be treated with respect and dignity.

Seems simple doesn't it? Yet all too often I see performers treated like an object of fun. Learn names, treat them as you would like to be treated, be aware that being in the spotlight may make them anxious. And be courteous - thank them for their help.

3.2 Participants are not to be humiliated.

There are ways of presenting sucker tricks and gambling scams without making your participants feel like idiots. But think carefully about what kinds of tricks you do. I have seen a teenage girl, highly sensitive about her figure, subjected to the bra trick, along with numerous tasteless jokes. I also am not amused about peformers who yell into the ears of the elderly to make sport of their hearing. Also be very careful at using sexual innuendo - it can work in some contexts, but be aware that it is being taken in the right spirit.

3.3 Participants are not to be put at risk.

There is a video going round the internet that shows two magicians failing disastrously at the old spike under the paper cup trick. You know, the one where you flatten the two paper cups that do not conceal a spike. One of the magicians thought it fun to hold a participants hand under his while doing the spiking - sadly he screwed up, and the participant was spiked. In any trick where something of that nature could conceivably go wrong - Don't put the participant a risk. This also applies to any props that you expect a participant to handle - such as razor blades. Make every consideration to ensure that they will not get hurt.

3.4 Participants are not to be hurt.

A long time ago, way back when Derryn Hinch enjoyed a short run as a Midday Host on Channel Nine, he had as his guest a certain 'Amazing' comedy magician. This magician, messing around with a silver tray, thought it would be humorous to whack Derryn on the back of the head with it. Hard. He got a laugh. Derryn suffered headaches and possible concussion for the rest of the day. Please don't do things like that.

Ok, that's the basic idea. These are just to get the ball rolling As you may have guessed from my numbering system, I have other things to add to this on subjects other than audience participation, but that will have to wait for future posts.

Be seeing you, Escherwolf.