Wonder Shows
Performing Science, Magic, and Religion in America
Seiten
2005
Rutgers University Press (Verlag)
978-0-8135-3515-9 (ISBN)
Rutgers University Press (Verlag)
978-0-8135-3515-9 (ISBN)
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A history of traveling magicians, inventors, popular science lecturers, and other presenters of """"miracle science"""" who revealed science and technology to the public in awe-inspiring way, including electrical """"wizards"""" Nikola Tesla and Thomas Alva Edison, vaudeville performers such as Harry Houdini, UFO cultists, and practitioners of New Age science.
Imagine a stage full of black cats emitting electrical sparks, a man catching bullets with his teeth, or an evangelist jumping on a transformer to shoot bolts of lightning through his fingertips. These and other wild schemes were part of the repertoire of showmen who traveled from city to city, making presentations that blended science with myth and magic.
In Wonder Shows, Fred Nadis offers a colorful history of these traveling magicians, inventors, popular science lecturers, and other presenters of “miracle science” who revealed science and technology to the public in awe-inspiring fashion. The book provides an innovative synthesis of the history of performance with a wider study of culture, science, and religion from the antebellum period to the present.
It features a lively cast of characters, including electrical “wizards” Nikola Tesla and Thomas Alva Edison, vaudeville performers such as Harry Houdini, mind readers, UFO cultists, and practitioners of New Age science. All of these performers developed strategies for invoking cultural authority to back their visions of science and progress. The pseudo-science in their wonder shows helped promote a romantic worldview that called into question the absolute authority of scientific materialism while reaffirming the importance of human spirituality. Nadis argues that the sensation that these entertainers provided became an antidote to the alienation and dehumanization that accompanied the rise of modern America.
Although most recent defenders of science are prone to reject wonder, considering it an ally of ignorance and superstition, Wonder Shows demonstrates that the public’s passion for magic and meaning is still very much alive. Today, sales continue to be made and allegiances won based on illusions that products are unique, singular, and at best, miraculous. Nadis establishes that contemporary showmen, corporate publicists, advertisers, and popular science lecturers are not that unlike the magicians and mesmerists of years ago.
Imagine a stage full of black cats emitting electrical sparks, a man catching bullets with his teeth, or an evangelist jumping on a transformer to shoot bolts of lightning through his fingertips. These and other wild schemes were part of the repertoire of showmen who traveled from city to city, making presentations that blended science with myth and magic.
In Wonder Shows, Fred Nadis offers a colorful history of these traveling magicians, inventors, popular science lecturers, and other presenters of “miracle science” who revealed science and technology to the public in awe-inspiring fashion. The book provides an innovative synthesis of the history of performance with a wider study of culture, science, and religion from the antebellum period to the present.
It features a lively cast of characters, including electrical “wizards” Nikola Tesla and Thomas Alva Edison, vaudeville performers such as Harry Houdini, mind readers, UFO cultists, and practitioners of New Age science. All of these performers developed strategies for invoking cultural authority to back their visions of science and progress. The pseudo-science in their wonder shows helped promote a romantic worldview that called into question the absolute authority of scientific materialism while reaffirming the importance of human spirituality. Nadis argues that the sensation that these entertainers provided became an antidote to the alienation and dehumanization that accompanied the rise of modern America.
Although most recent defenders of science are prone to reject wonder, considering it an ally of ignorance and superstition, Wonder Shows demonstrates that the public’s passion for magic and meaning is still very much alive. Today, sales continue to be made and allegiances won based on illusions that products are unique, singular, and at best, miraculous. Nadis establishes that contemporary showmen, corporate publicists, advertisers, and popular science lecturers are not that unlike the magicians and mesmerists of years ago.
FRED NADIS writes about American cultural history, science, and technology, and the popular arts. He earned a Ph.D. in American studies from the University of Texas in 2002, and he currently lives with his wife and two children in Kyoto, Japan, where he teaches in the Graduate School of American Studies at Doshisha University.
Contents
Acknowledgements ix
Preface xi
Part l: Electric Wonders
Introduction 3
1 The Electric Wonder Show 21
2 The Techno-Wizard 48
Part ll: Mystic Vaudeville
3 The Hypnotist 85
4 The Magician 113
5 The Mind Reader 138
Part III: Millennial Wonders
6 The Missionaries 179
7 Flying Saucers 211
8 The Many Gospels 230
Bibliographical Essay 263
Notes 275
Index 307
| Erscheint lt. Verlag | 28.2.2005 |
|---|---|
| Verlagsort | New Brunswick NJ |
| Sprache | englisch |
| Maße | 152 x 229 mm |
| Gewicht | 709 g |
| Themenwelt | Kunst / Musik / Theater ► Theater / Ballett |
| ISBN-10 | 0-8135-3515-8 / 0813535158 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-0-8135-3515-9 / 9780813535159 |
| Zustand | Neuware |
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