There's been a couple interesting posts on a_f_r, a group for those interested in renaissance faires. Last year there was a camera crew going around one fair and some interviews were done. A few days ago the result aired.

Before it aired this was posted:

Given the amount of stuff about faires in the media (including cartoons) which shows faire folk as either out of touch oddballs or downright crazy, this could be a chance for some more or less factual publicity about faires in general. On the other hand, the show has an interesting history and premise: It's basically a debunking effort, in which several sides of an issue are presented--and, thanks to careful editing (not to mention interviewing techniques) one side looks like total idiots, and the other looks like dupes, or, alternately, bunco artists. On the other hand, Penn & Teller have a history with faires. [source]

And after it aired:

As some of us feared, it was another lame "exposé" on those nutcases who like the faire scene. And, apparently I was one of the major figures quoted (completely out of context) establishing how big nutcases we are. [source]

A bit of editing and anything be can taken out of context and still be presented as true, and sadly find folks that will believe the result. And who better than magicians to misdirect?

Current Mood: unsurprised
Current Music: Anvil Chorus -- Glenn Miller