Cultural Sensitivity & Magicians

Magicians need to be able to relate to audience members, clients, potential clients and anybody else that they might work with in a positive way. In multicultural communities, tourist destinations, cruise ships and overseas performing venues magicians should be able to find value in understanding cultural differences in attitudes, body language and sensibilities.

So say you are performing an effect and at some point you signal OK by making the traditional Western hand gesture of forming a circle between first finger and thumb. Here in Australia I have seen performers make such a gesture at audience volunteers to indicate that they have successfully completed a task. They might come undone if they were to make such a gesture at people who are German, Spanish, Brazilian or Greek. In those cultures the OK gesture is considered vulgar, if not outrightly obscene. Done to a Frenchman it indicates worthlessness, and a Japanese man might wonder why you are flashing a money sign at him.

The thumbs up sign is considered vulgar in arabic countries. and putting your hand on your hips in mexico is seen as a hostile challenging gesture. In England you had better be careful about which way you hold the victory sign. Beckoning gestures with a finger are considered rude and offensive in Japan, Latin America and the middle East. Pointing with the index finger is also considered rude in middle-Eastern countries.

Say that you are passing out a prop for examination. You had better not do so with the left hand if you are performing to an Arabic gentleman. He would be offended at being offered an item with the 'unclean' hand. If you are performing to a Japanese gentleman, he will be offended if you do not offer the item with both hands. Incidentally, if you are handing out a business card to the Japanese, be sure to proffer it using both hands, holding it with the index finger and thumb of each so that the writing is towards them. A slight bow is good form. They will accept it with two hands, and scrutinise it carefully. It is considered rude to put a business card away immediately, something that it is good to remember if they offer you their business card.

If you are tablehopping in Germany, a light tap on the table is a polite form of greeting.

You will find that different cultures have different zones of intimacy. Men in Latin American countries tend to stand closer than those in Northern America. You can generally stand closer to an urban person than a country person. Some countries are very uncomfortable with touching (such as a hug) or showing emotions. Italians can be very demonstrative, but westerners tend to be more uncomfortable with close proximity. These factors can change the way your performance is received.

It also pays to be aware of religious differences. In Bizarre magick there is a plotline using a nail reputed to be from the crucifixion of Christ. How would such a plotline fare with (a) a Fundamentalist Christian (b) a Jew, or (c) a Muslim? What does seasonal Christmas or Easter magic mean in a Jewish, Buddhist, or Muslim home? I've already mentioned the idea of the unclean hand, but does your show include dogs? In some countries, these too, are considered unclean. Would you pat a Buddhist child on the top of the head to thank him for participating in your children's show? In Buddhism the head is the seat of the soul, and touching it is problematic.

What does all this mean? Simply put, you should be aware and sensitive to your audience. It is no different from the caterer that needs to consider special diets - vegetarian, Kosher, Diabetic, or Gluten free.

Now you might be thinking that you just perform in your local area and never travel, so you don't need to consider this stuff. I believe that you should be aware of them. You might think that it is too much trouble to learn about such things - maybe, but ask a mortician how many different religious rituals about death he must be aware of to ensure that he can appropriately handle the dead. He can't say to himself that he doesn't need to know about Muslim funeral rites because there are no Muslims living in his local area - because a visiting Muslim may pass away in his area the next day, and he must know how to handle the deceased.

About a decade ago I was at a performance of magic - a full stage show by a comedy-magician that at the time lived in my city. I was sitting next to a war veteran. During the show, the performer had an oriental man come up on stage as a volunteer. He then proceeded to make fun of the man's language difficulties, and kept making comments such as "You Japanese, This is how you lost the War...". It was a cringeworthy and offensive way to treat a tourist. The war veteran next to me grew livid. But the real kicker of it all, the thing the magician didn't realise was that the man on stage was not even Japanese (not that that would excuse him), but was in fact Chinese (and incidentally, the Chinese were on our side during the war). It is bad enough to insult someone's culture, worse still to get their culture wrong. Don't do it. Be culturally aware and sensitive.

Be seeing you, Escherwolf.