04-27-2009, 12:15 PM | #1 |
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Is Deus Ex Machina Really That Bad?
A lot of writers are warned away from Deus Ex Machina endings. It's good advice; it's a lazy way out and can make the ending seem forced and emotionally unsatisfying. I'm sure slush readers see a lot of such endings. But I also think that there is a difference between *bad* Deus Ex Machina and *good* Deus Ex Machina.
After all, a casual review of the record will show hundreds of great novels with Deus Ex Machina endings. The Andromeda Strain. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (actually, most of the HP books). Star Wars. The Lord of the Rings. Raiders of the Lost Ark. Tear of the Gods. The list is endless. But there's a subtle distinction here, and that is in most cases where it is successfully used, the Deus Ex Machina is not blatant or totally unexpected, but foreshadowed. It may be surprising, but it involves an element previously woven into the story which may be integral to the plot. Afterwards, the event "makes sense". When you write your heroes into a corner in the Ultimate Confrontation, there's really only two ways to proceed: either they save themselves through talents already well known, or they must be saved by somebody/something else. One can always classify the latter as a type of Deus Ex Machina, but it's not necessarily a bad one. If in the end the hero gets rescued by his best friend whom he thought had left ("I've been following you all along!"), this can actually be good for the story. Of course, the less foreshadowing there is, the more contrived it feels and the louder the cries of Deus Ex Machina from the audience, but even in those cases plenty of novels seem to get away with it. |
04-27-2009, 12:57 PM | #2 |
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If it ends the story properly, then it is good. Sorry to be glib, but that's the way I feel about it. Sometimes a miraculous rescue is perfect.
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04-27-2009, 01:19 PM | #3 | |
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04-27-2009, 01:23 PM | #4 |
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Deus Ex machina usually leaves me feeling that the whole struggle of the protagonists was pointless. It cheapens the experience for me. Have you read Peter F. Hamiltons "The Night's Dawn Trilogy"? While a great series, the ending spoiled it all for me. So many subplots, so much struggle for so simple a solution? Such a shame...
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04-27-2009, 03:00 PM | #5 |
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I consider Deus Ex to be that bad and worse.
Having said that, I don't see most of the examples given as really being DEM. Lord of the Rings certainly isn't: Yes Frodo fails at the last and it's only through Gollum that the ring is destroyed but that isn't a DEM. DEM is "God from the Machine" and refers to the classic Greek resolution of having a god come out of nowhere to resolve the story problem. That doesn't happen in LOTR or in A New Hope. The solutions grew organically out of the story. A New Hope would have been DEM if Superman had flown in out of nowhere and picked off all the attacking TIE Fighters with his heat vision. I think too many people these days conflate someone other than the protagonist resolving the issue with Deus Ex Machina. They don't have to be the same thing. |
04-27-2009, 03:11 PM | #6 |
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Actually it's the Eagles that are most often cited as the DEM in LotR.
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04-27-2009, 03:57 PM | #7 | |
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The bravery/tenacity of the heroes (or sometimes just their unbelievable agony) makes this often easily comprehensible to the readers. This might be just a little adaption to the first way you mentioned, but i used it already and it seemed to work quite well. I don't know if Moejoe already meant the same. If so, sorry Moejoe for repeating your thoughts. |
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04-27-2009, 05:41 PM | #8 |
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I get your point, and when I said "something else" I was also including that. That's actually part of a plot I'm working on now... the Hero has an undiscovered ability that saves him at the end, though why that ability exists is foreshadowed and wraps up an important subplot in the story. (Harry Potter again.) But I am worried too many people will cry "DEM!" over that sort of thing.
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04-27-2009, 06:14 PM | #9 | |
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It can certainly be described as taking the easy way out, but it's not a full-fledged DEM. |
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04-27-2009, 07:02 PM | #10 | |
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http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.ph.../DeusExMachina
Quote:
Last edited by sirbruce; 04-27-2009 at 07:05 PM. |
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04-28-2009, 02:16 AM | #11 | |
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04-28-2009, 02:47 AM | #12 |
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Yes.
This post: as annoying as Deus Ex Machina. |
04-28-2009, 03:27 AM | #13 |
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05-05-2009, 04:15 AM | #14 |
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I don't think there is such a thing as a 'good deus ex machina'. If it's good then it's not a deus ex machina because it would be something that stems from the story.
I think Star Wars is a good example. It's not a deus ex machina when Han Solo comes to Luke's aid - it's a pivotal character moment for Han and the culmination of the teamwork theme throughout the movie. So while it is a sudden and unexpected event, I wouldn't consider it deus ex machina because it stems from the characters and plot. Like someone said before, if Superman appeared and saved the day, that would be deus ex machina, but because Han is a great pilot and he and Chewbacca realised that friendship and the 'greater good' are more important than paying off his debt to Jabba, they come to the rescue. |
05-05-2009, 09:43 AM | #15 | ||
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Quote:
Your defintion is correct but it also means Quote:
I thought he was referring to "The Hobbit" in the LOTR where the heroes are saved from the trees by the eagles. Then there is also the little bird that just happen to talk and show up at the right moment to tell the humans where to shoot Smog.... Yea the Hobbit was full of them. In the end by the definition, the eagles where definitely "Deux Ex Machina" as they only show up when convenient from the story to move along =X= Last edited by =X=; 05-05-2009 at 09:45 AM. |
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