Y'know, when there was the really obvious Christ metaphor that no one seemed to talk about in SPIDER-MAN 2, after the big awesome train sequence, I swallowed it, even accepted it, mainly due to just how great the whole rest of the film was. And probably because Danny Elfman's music helped sell it too. It was a great human moment, even if it was a bit of unnecessary, ham-fisted symbolism. But now...? All I can say is, "oy."
what's the difference b/w "deus ex machina" and "jumping the shark"? you strike me as one who'd know and may even be able to explain the finer points rather well... b/c they strike me as much the same phenomenon, maybe linked causally (e.g. "By introducing the deus ex machina into the movie, the writers jumped the shark." ??
Jumping the shark, best as I understand and can describe it, refers to a point in a series where they try something so outlandish and desperate to get attention that the series never recovers from that point on. The term actually comes from the Happy Days episode where Fonzie jumped over a shark (but was it on his motorcycle or on water skis? I never watched that show).
Ty could probably explain the roots of deus ex machina better than I, but it refers to Greek theatre, when a god or gods would swoop in at the last minute and save the day. And so deus ex machina is used today when, at the last minute, some powerful person swoops in to save the day, often thus negating the struggle of the main character.
So they're not the same thing at all, but you absolutely, positively CAN jump the shark by introducing a deus ex machina. Deus ex machinas are often ploys by lazy and/or desperate writers looking for an easy out, but there absolutely are exceptions. I just can't think of anything off-hand.
But I know there are others who could likely better explain all this than I. Hope that helped and hope I was close enough in my understanding.
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Date: 2007-05-05 10:56 am (UTC)"Oh yikes."
Leveled the whole row.
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Date: 2007-05-05 01:25 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-05-05 02:05 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-05-05 02:42 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-05-05 04:15 pm (UTC)Ty could probably explain the roots of deus ex machina better than I, but it refers to Greek theatre, when a god or gods would swoop in at the last minute and save the day. And so deus ex machina is used today when, at the last minute, some powerful person swoops in to save the day, often thus negating the struggle of the main character.
So they're not the same thing at all, but you absolutely, positively CAN jump the shark by introducing a deus ex machina. Deus ex machinas are often ploys by lazy and/or desperate writers looking for an easy out, but there absolutely are exceptions. I just can't think of anything off-hand.
But I know there are others who could likely better explain all this than I. Hope that helped and hope I was close enough in my understanding.