“Readers tend to tolerate such "accidents"... when they get the characters into trouble but they're less accepting when the author uses them to rescue people. The "deus ex machina"...in one stroke it renders meaningless all the efforts of the cast.”
Thomas McCormack
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Similar quotes
“Deus ex machina not only erases all meaning and emotion, it's an insult to the audience. Each of us knows we must choose and act, for better or worse, to determine the meaning of our lives...Deus ex machina is an insult because it is a lie.”
Robert McKee
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“Nothing is more frustrating than sitting in an office amid typewriters and mimeographers when you know what deus ex machina means.”
Florence King
Reflections in a Jaundiced Eye
“...This particular blunder is known as deus ex machina, which is French for "Are you fucking kidding me?”
Howard Mittelmark
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“I need some kind of... like... last minute, poorly-set-up deus ex machina!!”
Bryan Lee O'Malley
Scott Pilgrim, Volume 3: Scott Pilgrim & The Infinite Sadness
“...This type of ending is a special instance of deus ex machina, known as the folie adieu, which is French for "Are you FUCKING kidding me?”
Howard Mittelmark
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