Deus Ex Machina: Past & Present

As a plot device, deus ex machina has a pretty bad rap (lazy, unimaginative, etc.), and yet, somehow, it continues to be widely used (maybe because plotting is hard). What I find most interesting, though, is how it’s changed from its origin to now.

The Evolution of Deus Ex Machina

Where Did Deus Ex Machina Come From?

You may have seen it translated as “the god from the machine” or something similar, but what on Earth does that mean? And how did that become a phrase? And what does it have to do with a trope-ish, lazy literary device that provides an easy solution to an otherwise unresolvable plot? The answer is a fascinating snippet of ancient life and culture.

Like so many other terms and ideas, deus ex machina comes from ancient Greece. Specifically, it comes from their theatre, one of the oldest examples of formal theatre that we know of (all those ancient tragedies and comedies). In brief, the plays were put on as part of celebrations for the gods, and if you know the old stories, the gods played major roles. In fact, it was not uncommon for gods to appear at the end of the story, punish whoever had offended them, reward the ones they liked, and otherwise put the plot to rights.

I imagine most of you can see the connection to the literary definition now, but where does the machine come in?

Well, if you’re putting on a play, and you need gods to appear suddenly, how would they arrive? If they’re gods you worship and believe in, you probably don’t want them to walk on from backstage – that’s not respectful to their vast power and awesomeness, is it? Instead, the ancient Greeks built machines to lower actors onto the stage from above. Yes, the ancient Greeks had a fly system (of sorts, at least).

So the phrase itself is extremely literal. It comes from lowering the “gods” from a machine to resolve all the problems in the play and end it.

What Is Today’s Most Common Deus Ex Machina?

I mentioned that this still gets widely used today, and while it can be a bit difficult to separate out from overly common plot devices in general (AKA tropes). I can think of one that definitely qualifies.

Hacking.

How many shows have you watched where there’s an urgent, even end-of-the world situation that is miraculously solved by a hacker getting into the un-hackable in an incredibly short time? Or crime shows where there’s no evidence to back up what the investigator is sure of until the computer wiz finds information no one else could find?

Come to think of it, how many shows where new technology gives the wiz an extra boost and makes the impossible possible? Something just on the market or even almost on the market. Something only available at a specific location or in a specific government agency.

It’s no longer the gods from the machine. The gods are the machines. Technology and technological skills are the new magical solution to difficult plot problems.

And, as usual, the people with tech knowledge are watching and going, “It doesn’t really work that way.” But to most people? Technology is a mysterious and, yes, magical thing. It’s something we don’t understand but have come to believe can do just about anything.

Or as Clarke put it in his 3 laws:

Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.