Creativity #1: Why do stock lines exist?
Creativity #1: Why do stock lines exist?
Envy, jealousy, opportunity and poor ethics? in truth it is a multitude of factors but a line becomes 'stock' when it has been repeatedly used by multiple people over time. Repeating a joke in particluar is a hard thing to resist. Laughter is infectious and to get laughs is a huge dopamine hit, and being funny is seen as an attractive atttribute. Why do we repeat jokes we hear on T.V - because we want that laughter we heard that comedian get.
The theft of jokes is nothing new and not limited to magic, comedian's (even the famous ones) have been stealing jokes since the dawn of the punchline. Even in the example above, repeating a joke heard on T.V. is in some way theft of that person's art. It is only a small step, to saying it again on stage!
Magic is different to comedy in that we have lines rather than jokes per se. these are comments, usually to entertain during a lull or whilst giving directions to the spectator. Most magic tricks require similar actions to be carried out e.g. Holding out a hand or saying stop to pick a card. This means one magicians line will automatically fit into anothers act. With jokes there is the set-up (3 men walk into a bar!) in magic there is the routine, and as we do the same routines we have the build to the stock line already.
Of course, stock lines wouldn't exist if it wasn't accepted as okay, and here magic contradicts itself.
On one hand you hear your peers saying, 'the magic is you', or 'don't copy anyone else as that is being a Karaoke magician' and 'make it your own'. All good advice. However on the other hand a lot of books include 'patter' and now stand alone routines are advertised as including 'all the lines, jokes and bits of business'. If I buy such a routine, the reason behind the price is that I have paid for the 'stock-lines', so I should use them. Often we are told to actually copy at first, but when we are comfortable to make the trick our own, but let's face it, who changes a routine they are having success with?
Bottom line, stock lines exists because no one is making anyone stop using anothers material, probably because they are doing it do.
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