Building from the example above, let's say that instead of a magical remote, the local militia bursts in and shoots the villain. Illogical placement and timing Deus Ex Machina-When something is established and explained in the work, but its use in that situation is jarring and impossible to believe.The hero then finds a magical remote control under a nearby couch that allows him to pause the scene, take the gun away, and shoot the villain. Let's say the hero has been pummeled to an inch of his life and the villain has regained control of his gun. Total Deus Ex Machina-A plot element that didn't previously exist and has no logical explanation behind it. There are four primary forms a Deus Ex Machina can take: It has since come to be used as a general term for any event in which a seemingly fatal plot twist is resolved by an event never foreshadowed or set up. It refers to situations in which a crane ( machine) was used to lower actors or statues playing a god or gods ( deus) onto the stage to set things right, often near the end of the play. The term is Latin for god out of the machine ( pronunciation: Day-oos eks MAH-kee-nah) and has its origins in ancient Greek theater. If The Hero is dangling at the edge of a cliff with a villain stepping on his fingers, a flying robot suddenly appears to save him. If the writers have just lost funding, a millionaire suddenly arrives, announces an interest in their movie, and offers all the finances they need to make it. If the secret documents are in Russian, one of the spies suddenly reveals that they learned the language. Send us feedback about these examples.A common form of Ass Pull or Writer Cop Out, a Deus Ex Machina is an outside force that solves a seemingly unsolvable problem in an extremely unlikely (and, usually, anticlimactic) way. These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'deus ex machina.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 8 June 2011 See More Matthew Continetti, National Review, 18 June 2022 Whereas some fantasists use magic as a deus ex machina which transforms their narrative into farce in short order, at his point a little numinous wonder would do the characters of the A Song of Ice and Fire a world of good. 2023 Absent a deus ex machina in which a winged chariot is sent from the heavens to lower gas prices, end the war in Ukraine, lock up violent criminals, and secure the southern border, House Democrats are doomed. 2023 All certainly seems lost.that is, until a deus ex machina in the form of Luke Skywalker arrives right in time. 2021 The goose is the deus ex machina! - Dan Snierson, EW.com, 20 Mar. New York Times, 9 June 2022 These days, artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming our version of the deus ex machina, promising to swoop in and solve our most pressing business problems. 2022 There are no deus ex machina cheats. Leslie Felperin, The Hollywood Reporter, 14 Sep. 2022 And yet the script (by the film’s director Ol Parker and co-writer Daniel Pipski) contrives to seat them next to each other at a series of events, like a mischievous deus ex machina with little imagination but magical command over seating placements. David Marques, The New Republic, 15 Nov. Recent Examples on the Web Throughout the book, Webster functions more as a symbol of this idea than as a protagonist, disappearing for long stretches of the narrative only to reappear, deus ex machina–style, with a rousing speech defending national unity against growing secessionist influence.
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