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David Blaine: What Is Magic?

Name: David Blaine: What Is Magic?
Director: David Blaine
Released: 2010
Duration: 44 min

Representation Score

1.1/10

Minimal

2010

Not Rated

Director

David Blaine

Runtime

44 minutes

Average Rating

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New Showbiz Analysis

The film is a specialized documentary focused on the technical aspects of illusion and the physical limits of the human body. Since the story revolves around the performer’s perspective, it does not delve into the complexities of multi-layered identities. The content remains neutral, neither promoting harmful gender hierarchies nor challenging them through progressive representation. The film prioritizes the spectacle of magic and the performer's skill over sociopolitical or diverse character-driven storytelling.

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Category Breakdown

Does David Blaine: What Is Magic? have LGBTQ+ representation?

Minimal

The documentary does not feature any LGBTQ+ characters or stories related to non-straight identities.

How does David Blaine: What Is Magic? portray gender?

Limited

The film focuses on a male performer and does not explore different gender roles or perspectives.

How racially and ethnically diverse is David Blaine: What Is Magic??

Fair

The film includes some racial diversity among spectators in New Orleans and New York, but these individuals are not active participants in the main storyline.

How does David Blaine: What Is Magic? represent religion and culture?

Limited

The documentary presents a Western perspective on individual achievement and physical skills without engaging with diverse cultural or moral frameworks.

Does David Blaine: What Is Magic? include disability representation?

Minimal

There is no representation of visible or invisible disabilities in the film.

Present on Screen

Includes incidental racial diversity through spectators in New Orleans and New York.
Maintains a neutral stance that does not promote harmful gender hierarchies.

Limited or Absent

Lacks representation of LGBTQ+ identities or non-straight narratives.
Does not include characters with visible or invisible disabilities.
Focuses almost exclusively on a male subject, limiting gendered perspectives.
Does not engage with diverse cultural or storytelling that reflects multiple aspects of identity.

Official Synopsis

David Blaine travels around America to perform tricks in the UK premiere of his show What Is Magic? He visits New Orleans where he carries out a money trick in front of locals, producing hundreds of dollars at their fingertips before stopping off at New York to conduct magic in front of Orlando Bloom. But the jewel in David's crown is his shot at the infamous The Bullet Catch; a trick which sees a 22 calibre bullet being fired at point blank range directly at the magician who then has to catch the bullet in a small metal cup in his mouth. The stunt is filmed using Phantom Camera technology which shoots 10,000 frames per second so that not a fraction of the action is missed.

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