What is Deus ex Machina?

Do you love miracles? How about the man made miracles in movies? In other terms, it’s called Deus ex Machina. Latin for “a god from a machine,” it refers to the crane that brought actors playing gods over the stage in Greek and Roman plays. Deus ex Machina is often used in films when an unexpected occurrence suddenly solves a hopeless situation. It is a contrived plot device to save our so-called “Heroes”.

How it is used in films?

We all either love them or hate Deus ex Machina. Sometimes those unbelievable or out of nowhere moments thrill us but mostly disappoint us questioning our ‘suspension of disbelief.’ For example, a sudden bullet pierced through a villain’s head or heart when he is about to kill our dashing and adorable hero thrills us and we jump on our seats by applauding in excitement. It doesn’t matter who fired that bullet or how realistic it was to kill the villain. As the audience, we want our lovable hero to win every battle and save himself and his loved ones, in some cases he ought to save the world. Therefore, they say that films are reflections of reality. The audience is coerced to believe the unbelievable by introducing Dues ex Machina because who doesn’t love a happy ending?

Is it a blessing or a curse?

Despite its frivolous nature, Deus ex Machina can certainly uplift films emotionally and aesthetically. However, if not used properly, it can ruin the film, both emotionally and aesthetically. Hence, it is a blessing if used properly and a curse used wrongly. There are sample examples in Hollywood and Bollywood films but only a handful of them end up exciting us. We often see it in action or comedy movies. Almost all superhero movies have Deus ex Machina in the climax. It often thrills the audience, as we don’t mind traveling too far from reality in cinema. However, it’s also often seen in comedy movies, which often turn into a disaster rather than laughter. The use is indeed not a ‘blessing’ in cinema but it cannot be called a ‘curse’ as well; simply because it helps resolve the plot by pushing the story towards the climax and it does provide the ‘catharsis’ to the audience.

Conclusion:

The reality check in films is as important as entertainment. The contrived plot devices or characters can often question our suspension of disbelief by making a particular situation or the whole film look like a caricaturist. Hence, I personally believe that Deus ex Machina should be avoided, as the audience today is really smart and intelligent. Irrespective of the genre, the film must entertain its audience keeping them emotionally and mentally engaged without the use of Deus ex Machina.

Check out our other blogs for more tips and insights on Creating Character Arcs and Film Editing.