David Blaine: What Is The Point?
David Blaine, that master of pointless stunts, has done it again…he just finished a stint of hanging upside down in Central Park, where he claimed his latest stunt would see him hanging upside down for sixty hours, a not-to-be-imitated move which could cause blindness, among other nasty side effects:
Blaine stopped eating “about a week ago,” he told Ripa, so that he won’t have to go to the bathroom, other than using his catheter.
“I’ll need lots of liquids so I won’t have to go into organ failure again, which has happened twice,” he said.
Other medical difficulties: Swelling of the eyes and “there’s the possibility of blood hemorrhaging in the brain,” he told Ripa, along with going into an altered state due to sleep deprivation.
Doctors, who will be monitoring him throughout the feat, say the increase in blood pressure raises the risk of stroke or blindness, and gravity could restrict the blood flow to his lower extremities.
Now, when this stunt was first advertised, they made it pretty clear that there would be hanging upside down action for sixty hours, and no mention of anything other than hanging upside down for sixty hours:
For three days and two nights, illusionist David Blaine will enjoy an unusual view of New York City’s Central Park — one that can only be enjoyed from six stories in the air, while hanging upside down. [...]
Considering the various health hazards Blaine may face as he hangs in the position for about 60 hours, [Doctor Ronald] Ruden’s concern is warranted. He said the stunt will be all endurance — no smoke and mirrors. [...]
Blaine said he has prepared for the challenges of the 2½-day hang by losing some weight, performing special exercises and practicing dangling upside down.
But there are certain health considerations that simple conditioning cannot address. During his ordeal, Blaine will not eat or sleep. He will urinate through a catheter. And doctors not involved with the stunt say there are definite risks involved with his attempt.
“He’s practiced a lot, but I’m not sure how long he has done it,” Ruden said. “I’m pretty certain that the longest he has done it so far is around six hours.”
However, he has been roundly criticized for not staying upside down for a total of sixty hours, but for taking breaks about once an hour to stand on a raised platform, go pee and get a once-over by doctors:
Yesterday we (and others) pointed out that “magician” David Blaine is a big fat cheater, because his current death-defying stunt—hanging upside-down in Central Park for 60 hours—involves hourly ten-minute breaks. As one commenter put it, “I’m going to eat a thousand hard-boiled eggs, but I’m only going to eat one a day for a thousand days, because otherwise I might get sick.” Yes, that about sums it up.
For his part, David’s spokesguy says that there was no intent to stay upside down for the whole sixty hours:
Rubenstein Associates represents David Blaine and I personally have handled publicity for every one of his challenges. There has been no claim that David was going to hang upside down for 60 hours without a break. In all of his discussions with the media, he said he would have to occasionally get his head above his heart and lower his legs to correct circulation. About once every hour, David comes upright for about five minutes for a medical and equipment check. He has something to drink and he relieves himself, something even David can’t do upside down.
And I point you to the above ABC News article, where it says:
Considering the various health hazards Blaine may face as he hangs in the position for about 60 hours….During his ordeal, Blaine will not eat or sleep. He will urinate through a catheter.
Hmm. Sounds pretty much to me like he was supposed to hang upside down for sixty consecutive hours and pee through a tube.
Now, I’m not saying he should have hung upside down all that time just to satisfy us. Personally, I think hanging upside down for that length of time is pretty dumb. It’s obvious to anyone with half a brain that you could do yourself some serious harm by doing so…I’m not a doctor and even I figured that one out. Of COURSE he should have taken breaks. I’m not criticising him for taking breaks, but for billing his stunt as one thing and then doing another. If he had figured out it was too dangerous to hang upside down for that long without breaks, then he should have said so to start with…it would not have made his stunt any less dangerous. Or less stupid.
Oh, and the Dive of Death? Pretty anti-climatic in and of itself…he jumped off the platform wearing a safety harness and then disappeared.
I guess I don’t see the point of these stunts. Among other things, David has been encased in ice, lived underwater, squatted in a clear box hung over the Thames, held his breath underwater for seventeen minutes, and been buried alive in a glass coffin. I guess if it’s your thing, more power to ya. I just don’t get my kicks watching somebody try their best to kill themselves in the most imaginative way possible.
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Blaine has been doing this it seems every since his competition “Mind Freak” has blown him out of the water, so he has to do stunts that attract attention.
There is a parody done on him, posted on youtube….that I have seen which is a toal riot.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYVEvQKfcpM
The guy does Blaine perfect with the stares and the depressed demeanor. Watch it, its SO worth it!
Comment by SMoke and Mirrors — September 25, 2008 @ 3:12 pm
I caught him on Regis & Kelly this morning telling them about what went wrong. I bet his next stunt will be extra exciting to make up for the ending of this one.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGPrx8Wk-TA
Comment by Jelly Bean — September 25, 2008 @ 3:36 pm