![]() ![]() When the Tyrannosaurus rex bursts into the scene and kills the raptors at the end of the original Jurassic Park movie, it’s an acceptable deus ex machina. Ensuring that it’s both “real” and “possible” comes down to two factors: worldbuilding and foreshadowing. Your deus ex machina can take any form you want - it can be magic, a natural disaster, an improbable coincidence - but it must be established as “real” and “possible” within the context of the story before it appears. The deus ex machina must already exist in the world of the story Neither a god’s intervention nor a human hero felled the monsters - they just up and dropped dead? Unlikely! 2. Because contemporary readers are familiar with how microscopic pathogens work, this surprise twist doesn’t come completely from left field.Ī reader from an era before the discovery of bacteria and viruses, however, would never accept such an ending. In the climax, the invincible alien invaders succumb not to the desperate war of survival waged by the humans, but to Earth’s invisible but deadly microbes. ![]() The ending of the 1897 science fiction novel The War of the Worlds contains another example of a deus ex machina that requires that its readers have specific scientific knowledge prior to picking up the book. And he can easily be hidden within the typical late-20th-century power structure of the corporate world, until the moment he chooses to make us aware of his might. Within the worldview of the movie and its viewers at the time it was released, he is an identifiable character type known to have god-like powers. Its deus is a powerful businessman who can effortlessly cut through office politics, defeat the villain, and bring about a happy ending, all with a simple command (something that seems positively miraculous to the main character). The 1988 movie Working Girl offers a very ’80s example of this. In other words, if you’re going to write a deus ex machina, the all-powerful force and the manner in which it resolves the plot must not baffle your reader. It’s important that they understand and have experience with the miraculous phenomenon (the “deus”), as well as the means by which it’s hidden and revealed within the plot (the “machina”), given their social background and the cultural context of your story. When you use a deus ex machina, it’s crucial that you take steps to make sure your target audience isn’t confused by any aspect of the plot device. Your reader must be familiar with both the “deus” and the “machina” Even so, you can (and sometimes should) incorporate it in your work, provided you follow basic three rules. But today, using a deus ex machina to tie up the dangling plot threads of a story - be it a novel, movie, TV show, or creative non-fiction - is frowned upon. This sort of plot twist wasn’t considered clumsy at the time the concept divine intervention was part of the Greek and Roman cultural framework. “ Deus ex machina “ is a Latin term meaning “god from the machine.” The “machine” in question was part of the Greek and Roman theatrical tradition: a crane-like device above the scenery that allowed an actor playing the “deus,” or god, to hover above, and even descend to, the stage below, where he would proceed to resolve the drama through his divine intervention. In fact, it can be an effective tool in your writer’s kit if you know how to use it correctly.įirst of all, if you’re gonna criticize it, make sure you know how to pronounce it. ![]() This highly contrived way of solving an unsolvable problem in a work of fiction is one of the hallmarks of sloppy writing it’s a clear sign that an author has “written themselves into a corner.” Still, as a plot device, deus ex machina isn’t 100% bad. ![]()
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