PENN and TELLER
Posted on 01/21/2003 1:58:23 PM PST by weegee
A sacrilegious stunt by Penn & Teller that offended some at a major magicians convention was defended Thursday by fellow local headliners.
A group walked out of a roast of Amazing Johnathan on Monday after Teller, dressed as Christ on a full-sized cross, entered the room on a cart. A midget dressed as an angel performed a simulated sex act on the near-naked Teller.
Penn Jillette, in a Roman gladiator costume, unveiled the scene by pulling away a "Shroud of Turin" that covered the cross.
Rick Neiswonger, a longtime magician and local marketing executive, said "the majority" of the 400 who attended the roast were offended.
"They (organizers) warned everybody that something offensive was going to happen, but my God, where do you draw the line? I've seen Friar's Club ... Sam Kinison and Andrew Dice Clay, but this was beyond bad taste."
The roast was part of the four-day World Magic Seminar at the Riviera.
Monte Carlo headliner Lance Burton, a roaster, addressed the controversy during the awards luncheon finale Wednesday that drew about 1,000.
Reached Thursday, Burton said, "I told them, `You were warned ahead of time.' It was a roast; it was held late at night (midnight). I absolutely, positively did not apologize.
"I said Penn & Teller, Siegfried & Roy, Mac King, Amazing Johnathan and I all have different styles. That's good; that's what makes it an art form."
He added, "Penn & Teller are my dear friends and I would take a bullet for them, and you can write that," said Burton.
Amazing Johnathan said he was aware that a number of "gospel magicians" walked out and raised cane.
"This was performance art," said Johnathan, who moves to a new, open-ended run at the Flamingo on Saturday. "I know that Penn is a practicing atheist, and I agree with him that Christianity can be dangerous. Look at the Trade Center. That was done in the name of religion."
Penn & Teller declined comment
PENN and TELLER
Their books are thoughtful, respectful, and mostly quite compatible with conservative views, other than the lack of religion. The impression I've gotten from their books has always been, "these sound like nice guys with their heads on straight".
Their shows, on the other hand, are calculated to be as outrageous as possible. Not "offensive", per se, although that's often one of the results, but outrageous in a "I can't believe they did that" sense. Their acts often involve making it look like Teller has died during a misfire of the trick, or has gotten his arm chainsawed off, and so on. Their entertainment niche is being gonzo magicians -- in a world full of suave, tuxedoed magic acts, Penn and Teller have decided to be the ones who set themselves on fire, act like freaks, go for the gross-out, and yell a lot.
Whether or not that's to your taste, my point is that one shouldn't take it too seriously, especially given how reasonable they seem to be off stage. It's like Alice Cooper, who looked/acted like Satan on stage, but has always been a decent guy.
Lots of folks are presuming that P&T were intending to insult their audience's beliefs, or insult Jesus. From all I know of them, I don't think that's the case. They do, however, enjoy "going over the edge" in order to shock, but the intent is more like playing the fools instead of thumbing their noses.
The response from the others is also of note.
If Christians were so dangerous, universities would require freshmen to read about the Bible, and school children would have a day when they would dress up like disciples and serve Holy Communion so they would understand, tolerate and appreciate the diversity of other religions.
To say that their "act" was not intended to insult Jesus Christ or peoples' faith in him must be a conscious lie. How can you say that? If they made themselves look like your mother or someone else dear to you, and did that same shtick, would you still say it was not intended to insult your mother or your feelings toward her?
This kind of disgusting obscenity in the name of "art" or "humor" makes me want to be very very sick. People who think it's funny or harmless are just accessories.
Insulting Christianity has become utterly trite and banal. Every so-called 'artist' worth his salt has done it. Mocking Judaism is just as clichéd, though not usually as mean-spirited.
No, the only remaining way these oh-so-daring, avant-garde, confrontational artists could challenge the conformity of modern life would be to insult Islam. Of course, since they are a sniveling pack of cowardly nancy-boys who hardly dare set foot outside Starbuck's, should we be surprised at their failure to do so? In the quavering words of a pusillanimous Seattle art critic, "Sometimes ideology goes out the window."
Any p**sy can insult Christianity in the serene knowledge that nothing worse will happen to him than an angry quote in the paper from Rudy Giuliani. It takes real guts to go the Salman Rushdie route.
-ccm
That said, the press seems to be unusually silent on this. Consider the fraternity parties that have a "jungle" theme with kids in blackface. Those people get called on the carpet for their actions and their mugs shown on tv and in papers everywhere.
Is stupity/intolerance only permitted when someone is a celebrity?
Of course, the author means "raised Cain." And considering they're magicians and all, I presume literally.
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