Illusions

Hans Klok popped up on my YouTube recommendations yesterday.

I am not a huge fan of magicians and illusionists. Life is tricky enough to understand already. But watching Hans Klok’s act was breath-taking. Here he is, rushing about the stage, brandishing fire, diving into boxes, waving fabrics, assisted by a bunch of women (wearing more make-up and fewer clothes than were strictly necessarily), and generally posing Byronically en route.

His illusions are staggering. You watch attentively, looking for the tiny flaw that will explain how the lower half of a glamorous assistant just walked effortlessly across the stage. There is no flaw.

Illusions are not my favourite thing on YouTube. I watch music, building and politics. Not necessarily in that order, and not in equal parts.

And watching Hans last evening, I was struck by the similarities between his act and the performances of Trump and Johnson.

Both he and they are fooling the public, using distraction and glamour to divert attention from the sleight of hand. All three are visually striking: Hans giving an air of wild and confident reckless ness, Johnson bumbling along with a carefully crafted clownishness (who could ever ask him a question expecting a serious answer ?) and Trump with his belligerent and arrogant swagger.

But the creator of the staggering visual tricks calls himself an illusionist. We join in the fun, and are willing to suspend common sense in the interest of being entertained, thrilled, amazed, even shocked. Both Hans and the audience know that what they are seeing is not real, actual, factual. Both Hans and his audience are in on the conspiracy. He is fooling us, and we are happy to be fooled.

With Trump and Johnson, we know we are being treated like fools, bur have not willingly volunteered to have our intelligence abused. And the dishonesties and illusions they create leave us aghast and wondering whether even they themselves believe their own magic.

If Hans came on insisting that what we were about to see was completely real, true and actual, his act would change. Or at least our attitude to it would change. As it is, we are on the edge of our seats, wanting to collude in being fooled. We have given tacit permission and guaranteed our credulity. Trump and Johnson merely treat us with contempt. It isn’t funny, and it isn’t thrilling. It isn’t even right.