On a Possible Positive Effect of "Orientalism", Being a White Male Liberal Fan of Anime, Chambara, Wuxia, and Bollywood...and When I'll Have to Start Paying Noah Berlatsky for Ideas!
Thank you DR for a well thought out article on orientalism. Fascinating! It also phas persisted over the years in magic. The most popular being magician Fu Manchu (aka David Bamberg ) an English magician from back in the 50s.
Thank you, Charlotte. It's something that's been rattling around in my head for a while now....
As for David "Fu Manchu" Bamberg? He has quite the story and history (I'd wondered how he got away with using the name of a popular Chinese master criminal—then I read that he had to change his character name to "Fu Chan" in the U.S. to avoid a lawsuit!), and I know that a lot of magicians until very recently played up their "exotic", "Oriental" training in the mystic arts. Mark Wilson, a magician I grew up watching on television (I had a bit of a crush on his wife and assistant, Nani Darnell, when I was a kid!), often referenced his "Great-Great, Greater-than-Great Grandfather" who had studied in "The Mystic East".
My one sojourn to "The East" was a business trip with my then-wife to Australia, where I learned the power to say "G'day, Mate!" 😁
Yes indeed there has always been a strong influence of Eastern mysticism in magic. I just sold a copy of David Bamberg’s biography to a friend. Fascinating man.
In my own shown several of my own routines are oriental inspired. One of my best friends is Japanese raised in Hawaii, her grandfather owned a magic shop in Honolulu and was the connection between the East and West for decades. I once used the word oriental in her presence and she told me Asians do not like the name. She couldn’t explain the why 🤷♀️ I like the word oriental, it has a magical ring to it. The mysterious orient.
Thank you DR for a well thought out article on orientalism. Fascinating! It also phas persisted over the years in magic. The most popular being magician Fu Manchu (aka David Bamberg ) an English magician from back in the 50s.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Bamberg
Thank you, Charlotte. It's something that's been rattling around in my head for a while now....
As for David "Fu Manchu" Bamberg? He has quite the story and history (I'd wondered how he got away with using the name of a popular Chinese master criminal—then I read that he had to change his character name to "Fu Chan" in the U.S. to avoid a lawsuit!), and I know that a lot of magicians until very recently played up their "exotic", "Oriental" training in the mystic arts. Mark Wilson, a magician I grew up watching on television (I had a bit of a crush on his wife and assistant, Nani Darnell, when I was a kid!), often referenced his "Great-Great, Greater-than-Great Grandfather" who had studied in "The Mystic East".
My one sojourn to "The East" was a business trip with my then-wife to Australia, where I learned the power to say "G'day, Mate!" 😁
Yes indeed there has always been a strong influence of Eastern mysticism in magic. I just sold a copy of David Bamberg’s biography to a friend. Fascinating man.
In my own shown several of my own routines are oriental inspired. One of my best friends is Japanese raised in Hawaii, her grandfather owned a magic shop in Honolulu and was the connection between the East and West for decades. I once used the word oriental in her presence and she told me Asians do not like the name. She couldn’t explain the why 🤷♀️ I like the word oriental, it has a magical ring to it. The mysterious orient.