The Latin phrase “deus ex machina” has it’s origins in early Greek plays. The literal translation of the phrase is “God out of a machine.” It’s original definition referred to the means by which characters who played the role of deities were lowered down onto the stage during a performance – by use of a crane-like device.
As a literary term, deus ex machina describes an improbable character, event, or situation introduced suddenly in a story to resolve a problematic plot dilemma.
If you’ve seen the 2005 movie portrayal of HG Well’s “War of the Worlds” – you will have an inkling of how this usually works. After the terrible ordeal, the desperate flight and epic fight for survival – what saves us all is the sudden revelation that the invading aliens are allergic (for lack of a better world) to our planet. Of course there is something clever in the subtle implications of the use of this plot device in this instance.
In an age where Speculative Fiction has become so popular and we have written ourselves into an ideological corner where it seems the hero must always prevail, no matter what. He or she must be saved and if not by him or herself or some other probable means – then by any, and I mean any means that the writer can conceive.
When we write fiction that encircles impossible situations and notions and worlds that stretch the limits of human imagination, is there need to be concerned about the overuse such a thing as an all too convenient plot device?
