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What does deus ex machina DO?
- What does deus ex machina DO?
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What does deus ex machina DO?
Jaak > August 31st, 2023, 07:13 AM
Well, what is a real deus ex machina?
In "Bored of the Rings", Frito and Spam are rescued by Deus Ex Machina Airlines:
Quote: There in the sky they saw a giant eagle, full-feathered and painted shocking pink. On its side were the words DEUS EX MACHINA AIRLINES in metallic gold.
Frito yelped as the great bird swooped low and snatched them both from death with its rubberized talons.
"Name's Gwahno," said the Eagle as they climbed sharply away from the disintegrating land. "Find a seat."
In the underlying "Lord of the Rings", the Eagles were expressly agents of gods... but not themselves gods. Gwaihir was not a god, Manwe was.
In Illiad and Odyssey, gods and goddesses are active participants.
But it is not a theatre play. They do not use machine to arrive!
In the classical Greek tragedy...
Aeschylus has express intervention of gods in Eumenides. But...
Aeschylus Wrote:(The interior of the sanctuary is disclosed, and exhibits the following group. Apollo appears standing beside Orestes, who is seated on the Omphalos. The Furies are reclined on seats, fast asleep. Hermes in the background.(
In Eumenides, Apollo is present as a speaking character basically from the start. In his own temple. Now, gods are commonly everywhere at all times, but they do not usually make a commitment to be available to confront and converse at all times, even in their temples. Still, Apollo is again not using a machine to show up in his own temple in Eumenides.
Apollo.
In Prometheus Bound, Gods are characters from the beginning, so do not need a machine to arrive.
The classic user of real deus ex machina is Euripides. And even then, not all his works that are sometimes said to involve deus ex machina actually do.
Alcestis: Apollo and Death start the story by their conversation - but do not at first address people. Herakles is NOT at that time a god - unlike Sophocles´ Philoctetes where he IS a god already and a true deus ex machina. Raising Alcestis from dead is merely a miracle, it is performed by a human and thus not a deus ex machina.
Medea: she uses a machine to appear in chariot, but is not herself a goddess. The chariot is given to her by a god - but the god who gave her chariot does not appear in speaking part.
Hippolytus - this is the second genuine deus ex machina I am listing. Artemis shows up in person, ex machina.
Note that deus ex machina does NOT solve any problems! Artemis does not actually save Hippolytos, who is after all dying for her. She merely declares that she is not allowed to save someone targeted by another goddess (Aphrodite), and promises to get back at Aphrodite in future (THAT she can, but it is no help to Hippolytus or Theseus). All that deus ex machina accomplishes is making Theseus feel bad.
And some other examples from Euripides - he had a reputation for deus ex machina, in lifetime, as mentioned by Aristophanes.
In Aristophanes´ own works, we have Birds. Where gods are expressly present. And Iris expressly arrives ex machina.
Note that the birds´ sentries give advance warning of Iris´ approach. Still, since she arrives by machine, she clearly is deus ex machina. (And solves nothing. The three ambassadors of gods come later and do solve the problem... and they enter. NOT ex machina! Because Iris got upbraided and threatened for being deus ex machina, so the gods who enter later got and heeded the message.)
Where else can deus ex machina be encountered? The 3 tragedians and 1 comedian are the preserved classical Greek drama. There is some later Greek comedy, Roman comedy and tragedy... any gods arriving expressly ex machina? Plautus does have gods onstage (Amphitruo), but do they arrive ex machina?
And how about other cultures? Does Indian theatre include deus ex machina? -
RE: What does deus ex machina DO?
august > August 31st, 2023, 08:32 AM
Disclaimer: "machina" can be translated as whatever machinery is employed, whether it's a crane or a pulley or the grid or fly loft overhead. So it's not a specific machine - like Apollo coming in on a flying chariot. Someone appearing to levitate and descend downwards, suspended by a harness, Peter Pan style, would still qualify, even if we're not supposed to see the ropes. So by that definition, someone rising through a trap door would qualify too. And as we know, the meaning eventually became figurative , and synonymous with any concluding plot device. -
RE: What does deus ex machina DO?
Jaak > August 31st, 2023, 10:47 AM
(August 31st, 2023, 08:32 AM)august Wrote: And as we know, the meaning eventually became figurative , and synonymous with any concluding plot device.
Yes. And note the counterexample of Iris, who was a literal deus ex machina, and did not succeed in concluding the plot. (She was chased away with threats of rape). -
RE: What does deus ex machina DO?
august > August 31st, 2023, 11:27 AM
Haha - I once played a deus ex machina - Jacques deBoys, the hitherto unseen 2nd son who turns up at the end of "As You Like It," to announce that the bad guy has experienced a religious conversion. -
RE: What does deus ex machina DO?
Jaak > August 31st, 2023, 01:00 PM
(August 31st, 2023, 11:27 AM)august Wrote: Haha - I once played a deus ex machina - Jacques deBoys, the hitherto unseen 2nd son who turns up at the end of "As You Like It," to announce that the bad guy has experienced a religious conversion.
Haha - it is Hymen, not Jacques deBoys who is Deus, though Hymen simply Enter, with Rosalind and Celia but without using machina. But another joke I see here is that Duke Frederick was converted to a false religion. Hymen is revealed to be a real god, and his religion does not include renunciation of the world! -
RE: What does deus ex machina DO?
august > September 1st, 2023, 08:53 AM
Well Hymen is the deus, but he doesn't resolve the plot, he just performs the marriage, and is usually played by one of the Lords, or the older shepherd with the implication that he's playing Hymen like your dad plays Santa. The preposterous appearance out of nowhere with the preposterous solution to imminent disaster is all Jacques.
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RE: What does deus ex machina DO?
Michael > September 5th, 2023, 01:33 PM
I've always viewed Gandalf the White as a sort of deus ex machina. He doesn't really solve any problems. He just comes in and gives support to the main characters so that they can get on with the business of solving problems.
In Star Wars, the Millennium Falcon is a kind of d.e.m. because even though the ship itself doesn't solve any problems, it enables characters to execute specific missions (that other ships cannot accomplish).
James Bond's cars might also qualify. Although I guess that's kind of debatable. But they don't really have to be there to advance the plot. They're included in the films mainly for the point of enhancing car chases. They're way over the top as real-life car chases don't involve all the gadgetry.