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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Aibu to think that anyone who believes is derren brown is daft?

411 replies

TENDTOprocrastinate · 26/10/2012 21:50

I have no belief in derren browns psychic ability. his usual hypnosis shows are blatantly all set up with actors/actresses. I have had many an argument about this in the past with dh. His current 'apocalypse' show- if it were real- would be a Jeremy beadle gone (far) too far. However, this apocalypse show is mildly entertaining. At least he is admiting that there are actors involved- though clearly guy who is supposed to be hypnotised is an actor too. (Dh thinks otherwise)

OP posts:
snapespeare · 27/10/2012 22:21

I like that a shy academic boy who didn't really fit in has managed to make a good career from his abilities, has managed to retain a sense of ...loveliness... and doesn't feel he has to cater to obvious b list celebrity nonsense to be able to be successful in his field. He is incredibly talented artistically, manages to be slightly self deprecating and is a consummate entertainer. I am obviously a HUGE fan. Blush I genuinely think that he looks after his 'subjects', blows off the signings after his show if anyone is adversely affected by their participation in his live-shows and is basically an all-round-good-guy. If he were a politician, I'd think he was evil. As he is, I think he's as close to genius as we can get and I absolutely adore that.

whethergirl · 28/10/2012 00:18

Another one here who caught the frisbee wrestled it off my cousin sitting next to me in one of his live shows. I went up an did a seance type thing, all the letters were face down and I had to muddle them up. The glass definitely moved - and I wasn't pushing it. It spelt out the name of a person and the seat they were sitting in.

aloiseb · 28/10/2012 00:20

LOL Snapespeare at idea of him smoking in a DJ while you....[hblush]

I loved "Heist" and after watching it read his autobiography. It explains a lot about how he does his "tricks". I continue to be impressed by someone who manages to influence normal sane people to pull a gun and rob a bank.

The idea of autosuggestion by what you have hanging on the walls and playing as background music is fascinating. I wonder what people make of our house, where we have conflicting rock music and war plane pictures on the walls? Is this maybe why the kids fight so much?[hgrin]

Jux · 28/10/2012 00:25

I think he is in a class of his own as an entertainer, and tremendously talented, very very clever.

I'm sure this latest extravaganza will turn out to be all about something completely different.

OK, so the Tinman wanted a heart, the Lion wanted courage and the Scarecrow wanted brains. Is Leona actually Dorothy? Obviously he's going to take her to Wales instead of going off to Scotland in a safe fast ambulance with a big strong bloke who's survived for some time and knows what's going on. If we carry on with the analogy, then the yellow route (note, yellow) to Wales is the Yellow Brick Road. Tis could get silly...

BittenInfectedCorpseDodger · 28/10/2012 01:43

I love him. That is all :)

NervousAt20 · 28/10/2012 01:55

I really like his shows Grin

KelperRose · 28/10/2012 01:25

I do think ........as I have previously said ..there will be a big reveal and we'lll alll feel a very bit daft for not getting it

DitaVonCheese · 28/10/2012 07:15

I was work avoiding like a champ last night so have read all of this and compared screenshots of Apocalypse with Karl Greenwood's mugshot (probably has a more glamorous name for an actor!) and am far from convinced they are the same person - v similar initially but the face shape is wrong.

Have seen the Wizard of Oz theory elsewhere and do like it. Reminds me a bit of Parker Pyne investigates too. It is fairly uncomfortable watching so am looking foward to the second part and finding out what is going on.

cornybeefhash · 28/10/2012 07:44

Are there going to be flying monkeys?

PrincessSymbian · 28/10/2012 08:24

Don't remember too many Zombies in the wizard of oz!

theluckiest · 28/10/2012 08:29

I luffs him. And think he is probably a supernatural being who just toys with us for sport. Or he's just very smart.

Haven't seen Apocalypse yet....will do now after this debate tho (job well done Derren!)

He is all about big ideas and tricks...does anyone remember the fake seance he did years ago? He got a load of students to 'contact' a spirit called Mary who turned out to be alive and well.

During the seance, the spirit made its presence known when a bell rang. The students shat themselves as did I....I got a text message from an unknown number at that exact moment saying 'Hello it's Mary. It's cold and I can hear a bell ringing.'

I absolutely shat myself ( I was also staying in the middle of nowhere which added to the scares). I suspect cheeky Derren had set this bit up too..it definitely wasn't a friend playing a trick. It was exactly the same moment as it happened on telly.

Either that or it's all real and ghosts, monsters and zombies are very real and very scary and there's one hiding in your wardrobe right now....

noblegiraffe · 28/10/2012 08:33

I loved one of his early tricks where he played chess simultaneously against a bunch of amazing chess grandmasters. He was at the centre of a circle, they were all partitioned off so they couldn't see each other and he went around the circle making his moves really quickly and won more than half the games.
They were all really impressed with this newly discovered chess genius.
He then revealed that what he'd done was alternate sides, black and white and pair off the grandmasters. When one made a move, he then played that move against the other grandmaster in the pair. So essentially the grandmasters were playing each other by proxy!
However, in order to win more than half the matches, at the same time he was actually playing a proper game of chess against the weakest player, the head of the junior chess association, and he won that one fairly.
He is bloody clever (and clearly actually good at chess).

I think he likes an intellectual challenge and is always pushing himself to do new stuff. A few years ago it was all about challenging himself physically, now it's more about what he can get others to do or achieve, or change about themselves. (remember the girl who he made observe her own death in a car crash because she was a dangerous driver? This isn't that far off, just more elaborate).

TheOneWithTheHair · 28/10/2012 09:35

I remember her. It really stuck with me. Does anyone remember when he set someone up to give the name of a pickpocket by setting up little clues all day for her? He explained everything.

I think that's why I like him.

Jux · 28/10/2012 10:06

Corny, the flying monkeys are represented by the zombies! So we've already had some, as it were Grin

If it's allegorical, it's going to be Oz, or Pigrim's Progress or The Odyssey or something. Haven't read any of them recently enough to remember very much detail. If there's a Slough of Despond then it's PP, and if there's Scylla and Charybdis or a one eyed man/monster or a lot of pigs then it's the Odyssey (the zombies could be the pigs actually).

Or it'll be something completely different! Grin

KelperRose · 28/10/2012 10:37

I do think the wizard of oz theory is plausible.

The whole yellow road to Wales or red road to Scotland (who would ever take the red road ..red spells danger)

IIRRC the guy Steven also said 'what does the blue wristband mean' in the programme but there was no reason to know that there was any significance to the colour of wristband he was wearing which suggests there is some significance to colours in the programme

I like Derren Brown and always watch the programmes thinking 'I'm clever I'll figure out what he's doing/how he does it this time' but I never do

There has just been a clip on Sunday brunch showing that Sunday brunch was televised to Steven saying a meteor strike might be imminent...but 'Steven was sitting in a pink and dress trousers, which I doubt is normal attire for a 20 something layabout man at 10am on a Sunday morning.....I'm thinking this might just be Derren Browns most elaborate trick/illusion yet and it will be at out expense ..the audience is the subject not the Steven guy

I am glad that it appears, and quite quickly appeared on the internet that Derren Brown has not really taken a real person and subjected them to an 'end of the world scenario' were he could have seriously damaged someone

Iam also glad that I have no idea what he trying to do and am spending time trying to figure it out........now that is ENTERTAINMENT

cornybeefhash · 28/10/2012 10:42

so blue/yellow are good and red is bad?
what about the emerald city then?

where's toto?

noblegiraffe · 28/10/2012 10:46

Clearly the wizard of oz behind the curtain is Derren, pulling levers and making marvellous things happen. But he's really just a guy.

valiumredhead · 28/10/2012 10:46

He doesn't claim to have psychic ability, in fact he is pretty vocal about the fact he doesn't believe in psychic abilitie

Quite! He is very vocal about the fact that psychics and mediums are charlatans and for that alone I love the man :)

KelperRose · 28/10/2012 12:07

cornybeef they are wearing green clothes! there's the emerald city

I'm now looking forward to next weeks show, and tbh when I finished watching on Friday I thought 'well that was a bit shit'

QueenStromba · 28/10/2012 12:08

KelperRose - he asked what the blue wristband meant because Leona asked him what colour his wristband was. I think you're right about the red route/red wristband thing - assuming that this is actually real then it's another way to nudge him towards the yellow route. I do think that the Wizard of Oz thing is a misdirect though - it was far too obvious.

As for whether or not it's real, I don't think anything anyone has posted is conclusive evidence. They haven't made any attempt to hide the fact that the brother is an actor - the producers of Apocalypse are on his Twitter page. It could be that this was why Steve was selected from the short list - I think most people would find it difficult to keep a straight face for so long. It's quite plausible that Steve got a few jobs as an extra through his brother which is why he has an equity card. Running a marathon also doesn't preclude him from being aimless in the rest of his life, especially when he only raised £55 on his justgiving page. The oven cleaning business could just be him going around with a steam cleaner - one of his long list of jobs he hasn't stuck with for very long.

cornybeefhash · 28/10/2012 12:15

The oven business is mentioned in the show. He trained but has only cleaned one oven apparently. Where is he going every day with his dad though?

cornybeefhash · 28/10/2012 12:16

Also Ian is clearly the brain

KelperRose · 28/10/2012 12:18

is this first two parter Derren Brown has done?

KelperRose · 28/10/2012 12:19

Is Ian the Scottish ambulance man? Who is Ian?

PrincessSymbian · 28/10/2012 14:58

Yes he is the Scottish paramedic (also in green) don't know who he is meant to be allegorically though!