In the past I used to think Criss Angel was a very talented and inventive magician. Yet, now I know that he is merely a puppet to the media and only buys his magic from very talented individuals.

When I first saw Criss Angel I was amazed at the magic he performed. I had not practiced nor had any interest in magic since I was very young, so the tricks were refreshing. After seeing these miraculous tricks, I could not watch enough of the magic he performed- I was always left wanting more. But as time went on, I became more and more interested in magic. From hours and hours of searching the net, I began to learn more and more about magic. Instead of watching Criss Angel on television, I became more interested in knowing all I could about magic.

One day as I sat on the couch, I turned to (as you might have guessed) Criss Angel. After not watching his show for a few months now, I did not know what to expect. Perhaps it was the fact that I knew how he was doing the trick. Or more importantly it could be the fact that I knew who had invented the trick in the first place. Whatever it was, as I watched the episode I was now bored and filled with disgust. I was watching him perform the trick verbatim. Even his dialogue was practically the same as the original act.
Later on I learned that he had hired the original magician as a consultant on the show. Now this got me to thinking about a few things. Primarily I was drawn towards what happens with professional singers when the run out of talent or ideas. As most of the people who live in this pop culture world called society know, singers who live directly in the spot light rarely ever right their own songs. However, they rely on song writers to come up with something catchy or something that will definitely sell.

So after comparing the two careers side by side, I now understand a simple truth. Song writers are usually song writers because they can’t sing, or are not famous enough to sell the song in the first place. Criss Angel is also following suite to this type of business. Seeing as how his consultancy is not nearly as famous as Criss Angel, it is easy to see why they were hired. The media needs a name brand to slap onto everything. Whether it be a person or a product, people have to be able to identify with a single entity when watching tv or buying a product.