The Lonely Search For Deus Ex Machina In Real Life

The term Deus ex machina comes from a Latin phrase that means “God from the machine.” It is a narrative device often used in movies and plays to ease tension and restore relief in the form of a happy plot twist before the movie/play concludes.

We human beings are a fascinating bunch that is drawn towards narratives and stories. As we experience a story, you and I project our existence onto the story and derive happy and sad emotions from the fictional experience.

As you watch a movie, you experience the hero’s journey from your eyes; you implicitly assume the role of the hero. It is your own emotional fictional experience that you undergo.

In this essay, I explore the role of Deus ex machina in our fictional experiences and try to extend this concept to real-life experiences. Does such a thing even really exist in real life? Let us find out.

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The Origins of Deus Ex Machina

We find the origins of Deus ex machina in the ancient Greek theater. Euripides famously used the narrative ploy in his tragedies. Just as the protagonists suffer and all hopes seem to be lost, the sun God Helios sends a dragon-drawn chariot to save the day.

What really established the visual representation of Deus ex machina was the frequent adaptation of a holy being (often a God) who entered the scene of the play to save the day.

The Greek storytellers and artists achieved this effect by raising a person using a crane (backstage) and lowering them through a trap door on the ceiling. So, the God literally arrived with the help of a machine (the crane).

Hence the term “God from the machine.” As history moved on, we have seen all kinds of artists and storytellers ranging from William Shakespeare to Steven Spielberg use the narrative device with great effect. This begs the question: why is Deus ex machina so effective?

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The Art of Deus Ex Machina

We all love the story of a person who worked hard to achieve success and wealth. If we were told instead that this person inherited their wealth from their parents, we would not be nearly as impressed.

This means that we inherently value and respect the act of earning benefits. The notion of tragedy takes advantage of this nature of ours, twists it, and pushes it in the direction of suffering.

All of a sudden, we find ourselves loving the very thing we despise and hate. Most of us do not like suffering. However, when the protagonist suffers and toils through challenge after challenge, we are gripped!

Regardless of how uneasy it makes us feel, we cannot take our eyes off of the hero. We watch in faith; the faith that things won’t be like this forever. Something has to give, and the hero HAS to triumph. And this faith is exactly where Deus ex machina comes in.

As the plot nears its climax, it would be a pity if the hero failed after all this toil and suffering. So, we don’t mind a crime thriller suddenly transforming into a super-natural crime thriller. We accept the (otherwise) absurd logic that an alien space ship saves the protagonist from a high fall.

We are obsessed with eternal happiness in the end. So much so, that “they lived happily ever after…” seems to be a very big need for us when we watch movies. Some movie makers like Disney literally thrive on this concept.

So, it appears that Deus ex machina fulfills some of our most fundamental requirements when it comes to fictional experiences. But is it the ONLY option we have?

A Skilled Storyteller Vs. a Lazy One

Many narrative critics over the years have criticised the role of Deus ex Machina in movies and plays. They argue that it is a lazy effort by the storyteller to satisfy the viewer’s needs without actually closing the plot.

In other words, Deus ex Machina allows for a wild-card that solves all the problems without otherwise having to adhere to the plot. Furthermore, these critics argue that a skilled storyteller would stay congruent to the plot whilst trying to meet the viewer’s needs.

This means that a random alien spaceship would not rescue our protagonist. Instead, he might actually take the fall and lose a few of his limbs as the story concludes. Alternatively, in true tragic fashion, our protagonist might die, leaving us all in tears.

Tragedy is a tricky thing to get right, which is why we don’t often see Disney movies try to pull it off; Deus ex machina is far more easier and much more effective.

All this said and done, I find myself strongly siding with the critics against using Deus ex machina in narratives. As much as I dislike it, I cannot deny its effectiveness. But on the other hand, we human beings have a habit of translating experiences form fiction to reality.

Our fiction is a reflection of reality and vice-versa; we learn both ways. This brings us to the next question: Does Deus ex machina exist in real life? And if so, what are the circumstances that are necessary to activate it?

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Deus Ex Machina in Real Life

Throughout my life, I have achieved many challenging feats. Some of these feats took years of dedicated hard work and toil to achieve. I have also failed in many of my efforts. Some of these were miserable failures that put me out of commission for weeks.

But here’s the catch: throughout all of these experiences, never was a time when I actually experienced anything remotely close to Deus ex machina. Any result that I got (positive or negative) was a direct result of my actions or lack thereof.

Even as I write this essay, I am trying to establish a startup, the future of which remains uncertain. Things do indeed look grim. If I ever could use Deus ex machina, now would be a good time.

But even under my current circumstances, I do not wish to actively seek for something like Deus ex machine. The reason is surprisingly simple: neither is Deus ex machina a repeatable skill nor does it give me a sense of control over my destiny.

So, from all my life experiences, I would say that the experience of Deus ex machine is much, much rarer than how often we see it in movies or plays. In simple words, it is dumb luck that outrageously influences the outcome in your favour. It can happen but it probably won’t.

Final Comments

Although Deus ex machina has been a very effective plot device in movies and plays, it has not enjoyed nearly the same success in the written formats. Novels that employ the device often perform poorly and are shunned by critics.

This goes to show that the more you are invested in a plot, the lesser you appreciate “the machine God” marching into the story with all His glory and might. It seems that we have an internal hogwash detector that spikes when things are logically out of place in strong narratives.

What does this mean for us in real life? Well, there is one big issue with our obsession with “they lived happily ever after…”. Nothing lasts forever; everything comes with an expiry date.

So, whether we like it or not, failure and suffering are very real parts of our real-life experiences. And we should not run away from this fact. Don’t get me wrong. I am not saying that you should say “no” to dumb luck that disproportionately benefits us.

All that I am saying is that don’t go looking for it. It is perhaps far easier and far more effective to invest in your skills to solve your own problems and fulfill your responsibility towards your life’s circumstances. Outrageously beneficial dumb luck can happen but it probably won’t!

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Further reading that might interest you:

• To Infinity And Beyond? – What Is The Final Destination?
• Winning The Game Of Money – What Does It Take?
• The Hindsight Bias: Cause and Effect

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