55 – Magician

Man of Steel Answers Insight Commentary

Recorded August 3rd. “The magical thinking of orphan boys.” Batman the magician.

[I finally get to do an episode about Batman, so it’s long.]

Answers, insights, and commentary on:

• I. Magic and Batman Tradition (25min)
  • Houdini the superman
  • Zatara in Acton Comics No. 1
  • Stage Act similarity
  • Perfection of Self
  • Working Definition of Magic
    • Artful Performance
    • Of the Impossible
  • Trained by Giovanni Zatara
  • Batman’s performance

• II. Magic of Movie Making (8min)
  • Georges Méliès
  • Robert Houdan
  • Larry Fong on the illusion of movies
  • Terrio, Nolan, Fong
  • Fong Super 8 Featurette
  • The Wizard

• III. This Batman is a Magician (12min)
  • Beautiful Lie
  • Mozart of Deception
  • Lies and Child Development
  • Theory of Mind and Self Control
  • Orphan Boys and Magical Thinking
  • Many Magic Tricks of This Batman
  • Impossibility of Magic and Logic
  • It was always a trick
  • Disappearing in Belle Reeve
  • First and Last Batman scenes
  • Lex’s Magical Props

• IV. Spellbound (40min)
  • Mind the Gap
  • Load Up
  • Write the Script
  • Control the Frame
  • Design Free Choice
  • Employ the Familiar
  • Conjure an Out

• V. Force (20min)
  • Magic Words: Luck, Fake, Watching, Force
  • Two Meanings of Force
  • Hope for the Best, Prepare for the Worst
  • Accept the World or Force It… Recognize or Save It
  • Free Will and Force, Martha
  • Batman Transformed and Self-Deprecating
  • The Silent Accusation
  • Superman returns

• VI. End Notes (15min)
  • Miscellaneous

To learn more:
Beyond Magic | David Blaine
It’s A Trap! | Justice League Action
Houdini, Tarzan, and the Perfect Man | John Kasson
Secret Life of Houdini | Kalush & Sloman
What is the Art of Magic? | Lawrence Hass
Blaine: How I Held My Breath for 17 Minutes | TED
Super 8: Abrams on Big Lessons of Small Budgets | Hero Complex
Spellbound | David Kwong
The Carbonaro Effect | Michael Carbonaro
AOM #306: Magic Teaches Success | David Kwong
Blaine Shocks Jimmy & The Roots | Tonight Show
Mentalist Lior Suchard Bends Alice Eve’s Mind | Late Late Show
The Grift | Maria Konnikova
Ep. 65 – David Berglas | The Magicians’ Podcast
Petter Johansson – Decision and Choice Making | Media Evo
Math Magic | VSauce
Mind-Boggling Card Trick | standupmaths
Oil and Water | STEMMathsMagic
Black Box | RadioLab
TED Talks on Magic | TED

End notes recorded August 8th
Beyond Magic with DMC | NatGeoUK
Death Trap | Harris & DeLisle
Who’s The (Bat)Man | Patrick Stump

Web: ManOfSteelAnswers.com
Twitter: @mosanswers
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