The "Black Magic" music video is a visual representation of the popular song by the British girl group Little Mix. Released in 2015, the music video showcases the group's powerful vocals and energetic choreography. The video opens with the four members of Little Mix portrayed as outcast teenagers at a fictional high school. They are seen being taunted and excluded by their fellow classmates. However, upon discovering a book of spells, they decide to use magic to transform themselves and take control of their lives. Throughout the video, the girls embark on a journey of self-discovery and empowerment.
As you might have guessed from the 1995 reference above (the Tome of Magic was released in 1991), my copy isn't a first printing. According to the copyright page, it's the July 1994 fifth printing. Since the flyleaf spam is also a feature in my copies of the Player's and Dungeon Master Option books (print dates of 1995 to 1996, but with the v2.5 graphic stylings), I suspect it's a transitional feature that only appears in later printings of the Tome of Magic.
Kubasik is another familiar name, though I mostly know him from a trilogy of books he wrote for Earthdawn which seemed to be more about masochistic sex and self-loathing than high fantasy. Deepak Chopra makes the case that science and technology today are like the dogma of ancient times illusions that we buy into that are actually unexamined assumptions of reality.
Throughout the video, the girls embark on a journey of self-discovery and empowerment. They use their newly acquired magical powers to turn their tormentors into frogs, make the school jock fall in love with the nerd, and even impress their crushes with their charms. The "Black Magic" music video is filled with vibrant visuals, colorful costumes, and an overall playful tone.
Break the Spell of Magical Thinking
In her book The Year of Magical Thinking, Joan Didion wrote this about the sudden death of her husband, John Gregory Dunne:
Life changes in the instant. The ordinary instant.
I remember where I was when I read that line: flipping through books that my friend Dorene had asked me to organize for donation. She had Stage 4 brain cancer and had recently decided to stop chemotherapy, as the side effects made her sicker than the disease.
I was staying with Dorene to help out while her caregiver husband took a much-needed break. A week later, I had finished the book, which was not just a musing on grief but also on the tendency to want things to magically go back to “normal.”
While Didion’s journey ultimately was about making peace with the inevitable, I connected to the parts where she discussed the urge to fight rather than accept reality. Magical thinking was the perfect weapon.
I finally got to Dorene by making the case that she should resume chemo so she could live to see her nine-year-old son graduate. Fifth grade, middle school, and then, who knows, maybe even high school!
When her furious husband came home, he told me, “You have no idea what you’ve done.” A few days later, Dorene called to gently let me down as she and her family had decided no more chemo once and for all.
She died a couple of months later.
What happened between our call and Dorene’s passing is the strongest argument I know against magical thinking — and for finding magic in everyday moments as an antidote to hopelessness.
What is magical thinking?
Simply put, it’s imagining that your thoughts, feelings, beliefs, or actions can affect the outcome of a situation without sharing a causal link. Another definition of magical thinking is denial.
That word can feel like a slap in the face when it’s altogether human to want to wish your way into a better place. Or knock on wood or rub a rabbit’s foot to change your luck.
It’s also natural to want to place blame somewhere else. That’s why during the Black Plague, the search for both relief and meaning led people to believe that marginalized groups, like Jews, witches, and gypsies, were poisoning wells.
Similarly, the 1918 flu, which had its first reported cases in Kansas, was called the “Spanish Flu.” That’s because most countries involved in WWI didn’t accurately report their outbreaks, so they instead scapegoated the neutral Spaniards for reporting the death toll in the press.
All of this shows up in the worldwide response to COVID-19, across all kinds of aisles, including the scientific community, governments, and beyond. From the early days when even experienced infectious disease experts failed to recognize the scope of the virus’ threat to today when herd immunity or vaccines are touted as imminent, magical thinking abounds.
Even the most rational and powerful among us want to believe things aren’t as dire as they seem. And that’s dangerous.
Still, not having scientific evidence before making a call or taking action doesn’t necessarily mean that we’re in a state of denial. Faith can be a source of great strength and clarity — for example, a belief in something greater than oneself has fueled the work of influential change-makers, including Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr.
Physician and author of The Undefeated Mind: On the Science of Constructing an Indestructible Self, Dr. Alex Lickerman frames it this way:
Perhaps, then, a more nuanced definition of magical thinking would be believing in things more strongly than either evidence or experience justifies.
In other words, none of us are immune to the subtle charms of wishful thinking.
Finding resilience in the rational
When it comes to conjuring false hope, expectations have special alchemy. We see it play out all the time now: it’s fall and back-to-school, so colleges reopen without comprehensive testing plans in place. Our science is technologically advanced, so we should have answers by now.
We’re half a year in, so the virus must be running its course — right? Yeah, no.
While it’s understandable to want problems to disappear without sacrificing comfort or facing difficult consequences, it’s not rational. And ultimately, it may make things even worse.
This is where the wisdom of the Stoics comes in handy. Roman emperor and philosopher Marcus Aurelius advocated for seeing things as they are by peeling off “the legend that encrusts them.” Seneca took it a step further to combat a source of magical thinking — unforeseen circumstances — in his Premeditatio Malorum:
Nothing ought to be unexpected by us. Our minds should be sent forward in advance to meet all problems, and we should consider, not what is wont to happen, but what can happen.
Considering the Romans faced down much of what we are currently dealing with, including pandemics, natural disasters, plus political and social turmoil, it’s now the perfect time to adopt an attitude of radical acceptance of what is versus what we think it should be.
Making a conscious choice
Here’s where things get tricky from an existential standpoint: how do you define reality?
Deepak Chopra makes the case that science and technology today are like the dogma of ancient times — illusions that we buy into that are actually “unexamined assumptions of reality.”
For example, most people accept that the body has sensations. But philosopher Bertrand Russell in The Analysis of Matter noted that the atoms and molecules that are the building blocks of a body or a brain don’t have sensations.
So, Chopra reasons, it’s a kind of magical thinking to believe that the end result (body, brain) would feel anything:
There is no point in the evolution of the cosmos where anyone can say atoms and molecules started to think, feel, and have sensations, and yet we assume that. There is the riddle, the mystery, the miracle.
The space between mind and matter is a fertile place to bridge the reality gap. For Chopra, it’s about considering “a practical alternative — an experience of reality that is experienced directly.”
In other words, consciousness. Going back to the wisdom of ancient India, there is a silent ocean of pure potential said to underlie everything. Thoughts and feelings are the waves on the surface that rise and fall.
While this may feel difficult to comprehend or accept, there is a kernel of wisdom that helps put a pin in magical thinking: the ever-changing nature of thoughts and feelings.
You can love a new pair of jeans today and tomorrow decide they make you look chunky. Or wear a mask everywhere you go today, and tomorrow choose to go out into the world maskless.
Your body weight doesn’t change in a day, nor does the reality of how the coronavirus is spread. But your ideas about yourself in relation to those things are often in flux.
Choosing to go beyond your thoughts about a situation moves you toward accepting the truth of what is.
Taming your inner unicorn
Ridding yourself of magical thinking has a couple of profound benefits. It helps you make better choices. And it also pushes you to stop hoping for change and start taking meaningful action.
While our experience of life is subjective, we can take strides to be more objective. This requires curiosity and a willingness to question our decision-making criteria.
The good news is that the necessary mindset to fuel worthy inquiry is healthy skepticism — something our generation is all about.
This time, though, the authority you’ve got to question is you. Your biases, your desires, and your susceptibility to blindly accept what others think, which we’re all prone to in this age of mediated experiences.
The key is to give yourself space to process before deciding to act. Mindfulness and meditation can help you move past the distraction of ever-changing expectations, impulses, and ideas to see your options more clearly. And journaling is a great outlet to record your experiences and beliefs, and then question and process accordingly.
Finally, Lickerman advises that you insist on proof whenever possible. If you can hold onto being intellectually “agnostic” when something isn’t proven, you can better resist emotionally driven action.
Everyday magic
I left something out that Dorene told me during our call. Doctors believed that chemotherapy would only prolong her life weeks or, at most, a few months, as the cancer had metastasized. She knew her time was precious, and to waste one more minute of it sick in bed wasn’t worth it to her.
Instead, she and her husband dipped into their savings and bought a sailboat. For those last two months of her life, she and the boys took the boat out most days. It had always been a dream of theirs to spend a leisurely summer sailing, and before Dorene died, she made it happen.
Magical thinking is all about wishing something extraordinary would change things for the better. On the other hand, magical living is about accepting the things you can’t change and instead focusing on making every ordinary instant extraordinary.
About Trudi Roth
Trudi Roth is a writer/marketer/editor and meditation teacher. It’s her mission and delight to help people express themselves authentically in all realms.
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Welcome to my first let's read!
It showcases the group's strong camaraderie and their ability to support and uplift each other. The video also promotes the message of being yourself and embracing your individuality, even when faced with adversity. The choreography in the music video is dynamic and showcases the group's slick and synchronized dance moves. It adds to the overall energy and fun-loving vibes of the song and video. With its catchy pop sound, empowering lyrics, and captivating visuals, the "Black Magic" music video perfectly complements the song and helps drive its popularity. It has garnered millions of views on YouTube and has become one of Little Mix's most recognized and loved music videos. Overall, the "Black Magic" music video is a delightful and entertaining visual representation of Little Mix's hit song. It showcases the group's talent, personality, and ability to create catchy and empowering pop music..
Reviews for "The Styling and Fashion Inspiration of the Black Magic Music Video"
1. Jessica - 2 stars
I was really disappointed with the "Black Magic" music video. I had high expectations, considering the catchy song and the energetic performances from Little Mix. However, the video failed to live up to the hype. The storyline was weak and lacked creativity, and the visuals were underwhelming. Overall, it felt like a missed opportunity to create a visually stunning and captivating video that could have complemented the infectious nature of the song.
2. Ryan - 3 stars
I found the "Black Magic" music video to be quite average. While it had some moments of charm and fun, it didn't quite capture the essence of the song. The concept of transforming nerdy girls into confident, popular women had potential, but it was executed in a cliché and predictable way. Additionally, I felt that the video lacked a cohesive narrative, and the editing was choppy. Overall, it could have been a much stronger visual representation of the catchy and empowering track.
3. Emma - 2.5 stars
I was really excited to see the music video for "Black Magic," but unfortunately, it left me feeling disappointed. The video felt generic and didn't offer anything particularly new or intriguing. The choreography was lackluster, and the girls' personalities didn't shine through as much as I would have liked. Overall, it felt like an opportunity missed to create a visually stunning and memorable video that could have elevated the song to a new level. I was left wanting more creativity and originality from Little Mix.