Downwrite - Every writer is a frustrated actor who recites his lines in the hidden auditorium of his skull; Rod Serling

Deus Ex Machina is a Greek tern meaning God out of the Machine. It refers to a literary technique whereby vast conflict is resolves by an unlikely source, which comes from outside the world of the narrative. The chief example is like that of Greek theatre when a God would come down, literally on a crane (as part of the performance) and simply solve all problems.

Today, the technique of Deus Ex Machina is mostly regarded as clumsy. It rarely adds anything of value to the story and is best avoided unless it adds significantly to the value of the work.

Examples of Badly used Deus Ex techniques include, but are not limited to;

…and suddenly he woke up and discovered it was all a dream.

…just when it seemed the Aliens would destroy the world they all died from bacteria.

…A hero rides over the hill, saying “Never fear! I’ve killed the dragon, and restored the city to its former glory and convinced your father to let me marry you and found lots of money to solves the economic disparity!”

…“Haha, see we tricked you, it was all an elaborate joke to make you THINK that your life was teetering on the brink of destruction.”

…And inside the anonymous envelope was a magic bean which made her transport from the eternal labyrinth back home again.

Chances are if you’re missing that little something at the end of your story you’re also missing it from the very beginning. The end should be the natural conclusion (or twisted subversion) of the rest of the story.

There are circumstances in which though Deus Ex Machena has been used positively to great effect. It is often found in Comedy to humorous effect. The Goon Show was fond of the ending; “AND NOW…. THE ANTICLIMAX!” It may also be used to provide the reader with a sense of disappointment, serving the purpose of consciously pointing out the futility or worthlessness of all that has gone on before.

For two examples of another use of the Deus Ex Machena, where it is consciously used and mentioned to express the power of some other higher force, see the films Donny Darko and Matrix; Revolutions.

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Posted By: Brenton - Category: Essay Writing

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Heartbreak

November 13th 2007 12:40

Heartbreak is something I have never had to deal with and I find that being subject to its immense pain is much like colliding with an umbrella travelling at high velocity - it's shocking, disorienting, and you're left wondering 'did that really just happen?'. Indeed I have been hit in the jaw by an umbrella which was travelling at a high velocity in my direction, I've been there, I've done that, and just recently, heartbreak showed me the pain and irony can be all in the head too.

The question I'm left with, as my wound heals (and I pray it doesn't tear open and bleed like it has done before) is obviously 'did that really just happen?', except it's more in the realm of 'did that really just fucking happen?'. I'm an objective, sane minded, realistic dude, I'm very much incapable of emotional thought unless it has some solid rational backing, I hardly understand it as it is.

I've seen it happen to people, but I never thought it could happen to me. My thoughts always were 'just stick to the road, think rationally about it and you'll get through with no emotional baggage'. Sadly the logic of 'there are plenty of fish in the sea' didn't quite cut it when it came time to do the road test. I wanted this fish, I wanted only this one, maybe I still do but I dare not go there (lest I open up the wound), of all the billions of fish in the sea I wanted this one and no other would do. What was this reasoning? This single minded determination? This isn't a movie, this is real life, shit doesn't go down here like it does in Hollywood.

Did I love her for all those years, a continent and country apart? I’m not really sure... Do I love her now? Yes. I never could have been sure, not until I started talking to her, then it came to me that it was more than just some sort of material lust, I genuinely was in love with her.

But like all good, even magical things, this was not meant to be. It wasn’t meant to be for several reasons, more so than I can list here. In the end I had to accept it, I cannot have her, we’re too different, we live too far away from each other and she’s taken.

So I might love her, but she’s my friend first, and that, is the cause of my heartbreak.

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Posted By: Ahmed - Category: Essay Writing

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Politics and Religion in Harry Potter

July 21st 2007 15:11

WARNING. This article is an analysis of Harry Potter 7. Naturally it’s going to have some pretty heavy spoilers. Don’t want to know – STOP READING.

I first noticed how political the Harry Potter books were in number six, where the Wizarding world alerted the Muggle Prime Minister to the dangers of Voldemort. The dealing of prominent political issues through the world of magic fascinated and delighted me.

Others who enjoyed the politics of number six should love number seven. The novel is full of allusions to real life political issues.

The main theme of the novel is Voldemort’s rise to power. Voldemort’s evil comes from his extremist racial ideas of blood purity – in a way drawing strong allusions to other racially prejudiced leaders. In this same way, Voldemort’s followers are reminiscent of groups such as the Klu Klux Klan, who believe in the importance of unpolluted blood lines. The terminology used by the followers of Voldemort – such terms as ‘blood traitor’, are also popular amongst many white supremacist organizations.

The fallibility of Governments is another strong theme. The Ministry of Magic’s denial and cover up of Voldemort is not unlike the long continued denial of Global Warming. The Ministry of Magic’s Muggle Register is reminiscent of Australia’s coming National ID Card – or even more so that of Japan, where third generation Japanese Koreans were for a long time required to hold a foreigners ID card.

One stunning moment of the book features a stone statue inside the Ministry of Magic featuring a pile of naked Muggles underneath Wizards. I don’t know about you, but my mind went somewhere pretty specific with that one.

Interrogation of students along with their manipulation via the treatment of family members seems a lot like McCarthyism. And of course, much of the racial purity fervor and the repression of subversive literature (in the Quibbler's manipulation) echo deeply of Nazi Germany.

Indeed, there is a great deal of left wing bias in the novel. This bias does not stretch to the spiritual nature of the novel, which conveys a theme more for Christianity than against. The morals of Christianity are also intact. As for turning other cheeks and loving neighbors, Harry does a bit of that when he saves Draco’s life – twice.

I guess everyone gets something different from the novel. How about you?

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Posted By: Brenton - Category: Essay Writing

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Addicted to Loving

May 10th 2007 16:30

Most commonly the rule is that you’ll be head over heels for one girl one day, the next day it will be someone else, so on and so forth, hence the driving force for the saying ‘better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all’.

Of course this falls flat on its face when a person is either addicted to loving, from one person to another, or the opposite, when the affection is stuck on one person like shit to a blanket

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