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 a hopeless situation is suddenly solved by an unexpected occurrence. 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 though 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 audience, we want our lovable hero to win every battle and save himself and his loved ones, in some cases he is ought to save the world. Therefore, they say that films are reflection 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 it’s frivolous nature, Deus ex Machina can certainly uplift a 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 ample examples of Deus ex Machina 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 superheroes movies have Deus ex Machina in the climax. It often thrills the audience, as we don’t mind travelling too far from reality in cinema. However, it’s is also often seen in comedy movies which often turns into a disaster than laughter. The use of Deus ex Machina is indeed not a ‘blessing’ in cinema but it cannot be called a ‘curse’ as well; simply because it helps resolving the plot by pushing the story towards 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 caricaturist. Hence, I personally believe that Deus ex Machina should be avoided, as 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.
