Tolkien's 'Deus ex Machina'

[The Saucepan Man]

Originally Posted by Nogrod

So here I will side with Boro. That is just bad film-making

Bad film making does not necessarily equate to Deus Ex Machina.

Dictionary.com gives the following definition:

deus ex machina \DAY-uhs-eks-MAH-kuh-nuh; -nah; -MAK-uh-nuh\, noun:
1. In ancient Greek and Roman drama, a god introduced by means of a crane to unravel and resolve the plot.
2. Any active agent who appears unexpectedly to solve an apparently insoluble difficulty.

The arrival of the Army of the Dead is not unexpected, as the background to their involvement has already been spelled out in previous scenes. Indeed, their arrival is somewhat less unexpected in the film than it is in the book. Moreover, they arrive in consequence of the endeavours of one of the "heroes" of the story, rather than appearing out of nowehere or being "sent by the gods".

But I think that, in order for something to fully qualify as a Deus Ex Machina device, at least in the sense that such term is used critically, the turn of events comprising it must be one which comes across artificial or improbable in the context of the story. The Army of the Dead is neither of these things, in either the film or the book.

And I would say the same about the Eagles. Obviously, if one has read Tolkien's works more widely than just LotR, then one will be aware of the Eagles' as a feature of Middle-earth. But even within LotR alone, they are given sufficient credibility as denizens of the fantasy world not to come across as improbable or artificial.

Originally Posted by Lalwendë

All I have to say for now is that all of the criticisms I've heard about deus ex machina seem to come from those who have not read the books. Which to me suggests that Tolkien knew what 'dangerous machines' were, but Jackson maybe did not?

I am not sure that I follow your meaning. The Eagles feature in the film trilogy to about the same extent as they do in the book trilogy. So in terms of LotR alone, if Jackson is to be criticised for his use of the Eagles, then so should Tolkien, since Jackson used them in much the same way that Tolkien did.

But, for me, Deus Ex Machina, when applied as a criticism, should involve something which leaves the reader (or viewer) feeling rather cheated. The Eagles provoke no such feeling in me in either the book or the film. Indeed, I found their arrival at Sammath Naur to be one of the most uplifting and moving parts of the book when I first read it, and I felt much the same way about their arrival in the film (probably because it was such an emotional part of the book for me).