While I would recommend staying away from this plot device as much as possible, there are ways to make it work for your story rather than against it. Some of them are can be clearly categorized as lazy writing, while others aren’t so black and white. We've isolated four distinct types that most storytellers find themselves in. While we rarely see a literal god from the machine swoop in to save the day anymore, we we define deus ex machina has expanded quite a bit. To define deus ex machina is to show it in action. This is much easier said than done and there have been countless deus ex machina examples in film.
We've come a long way in our storytelling but there's one thing that writers will always face - ending their story logically, purposefully, and with meaningfully. Most modern stories don't involve deities intervening our stories so what does deus ex machina mean today? DEUS EX MACHINA EXAMPLES What does deus ex machina mean today After this deus ex machina definition, let's talk about some contemporary examples.