DOCSLIB.ORG

Deus Ex Machina Pronounced: Dey-Uhs Eks Mah-Kuh-Nuh Or Dee-Uhs Eks Mak-Uh-Nuh the First Year Exhibition

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Deus Ex Machina Pronounced: Dey-Uhs Eks Mah-Kuh-Nuh Or Dee-Uhs Eks Mak-Uh-Nuh the First Year Exhibition Deus ex Machina pronounced: dey-uhs eks mah-kuh-nuh or dee-uhs eks mak-uh-nuh the first year exhibition SUBMISSION DEADLINE: Thursday, March 17, 2011 Entrants will be notified no later than March 24. Work drop off – April 1. Show Opening – April 6. Deus ex machina “the first year exhibition” is open to all first year/ freshman students from all majors and disci- plines. The exhibit broadly explores and interprets the statement / concept, “God out of the machine” (in Latin “Deus ex machina”). This exhibition is not only a mechanism to promote student work created, in some way, through new media, but also to bring students from all disciplines together into one arena, the Interactive Arts and Media Project Room, to showcase their work. See the iam.colum.edu website for more information. Class Project: Mural Theme: Deus ex Machina ~ Machine as catalyst; machine as solution; a machine that changes humanity (cell phones, computers, social networking?); a machine, a device, a strategy that affects the outcome of the “story.” IDEAS: • Creating a space, implying movement, indicating actions, change and connections; show how we are connected; metaphors for “machine”; (design elements) lines, waves, colors, shapes could become meta- phors for connections • Flash mob - to do a social action • Concept of collective via machines • Titles? net.mob; brainstorm, brainstorm. Check out THINKMAP in thesaurus.com; see the handout about visualizing ideas and creating idea maps • Freedom box - democracy of connectivity; alternative internet • Deus means god. How do we understand that here? • Let’s write the story TECHNICAL INSTRUCTIONS: Use your self-portraits from Project One: World Without Words: Illustrating the Design Principles and create a 2D place where you all meet up. If you only have a torso, render a full-body image. Consider making a few new ones that show action as well as stasis (not moving). Create in Illustrator. All students will act as: Art directors and production managers Each student must provide a full-body self portrait (a head and torso can be included as well) and write a one-page paper that includes an artist statement and a description of the experience (what was learned, opinion of collaborative process, opinion of the project). HOMEWORK: In a folder called “mural” in our homework classfolder on the server, place an AI document that has images of you completed for Project One, plus others you’d like to include. Render them in a similar fashion so you are recognizable in various poses. Name each doc your first and last initial so your classmates can make sure they include yours: claudia-l.ai. Actual work will be 72“ (6 ft) x 36” (3 ft) To work on your ideas, create a document that is half the actual size - we will change it as a class when you return. Specs: 36” x 18; white canvas Arrange you and your classmates to create the story. You will copy and paste from each classmate document into your mural piece. Use various design elements to show connectivity, hold the piece together and create points of interest, contrast, texture, etc. Employ scale to create depth, perhaps lines that show a horizon to demarcate a ground. Ultimately, the piece is how you all interact with this “machine” or respond/react to this “machine”; support elements should be just that. After our discussion in class, take notes and make sure your work reflects agreements we made in class. DUE: When we return from spring break, March 29. This project is worth 10 points A deus ex machina is a plot device which originated in Ancient Greek tragedies. Literally translated as "God from the machine", it is still used metaphorically in literature and films today. Here are some examples of deus ex machina and pointers for how to spot the plot device. Origins of Deus Ex Machina Criticisms of Deus Ex Machina as a Plot Device The term "deus ex machina" comes from ancient Greek theatre. It was a common The deus ex machina is often criticised for providing a lazy ending to a story. occurrence for plays of the time to feature a character - often a God or Goddess - Audiences of Greek theatre were more forgiving of the device, but in modern turn up out of nowhere at the end to save all of the characters and resolve all of the times it is considered an example of bad writing. It is criticised for providing plot points. The "Gods" were usually lifted onto the stage by a crane, or machine, implausable and unsatisfying endings to stories, and audiences may feel they have giving rise to the name "deus ex machina" or "God from a machine". been "cheated" when a deus ex machina is introduced at the last minute. The deus ex machina would conveniently solve all the problems and complications Deus ex machina is considered an easy way out - a way to resolve the story that had occurred in the play up to that point. Despite the deus ex machina often nicely, without putting any effort into writing a plausible and satisfactory ending. making little sense, it was used to provide an easy ending to a play. How to Spot a Deus Ex Machina in Fiction Examples of Deus Ex Machina When studying a text, here are some clues that you may be dealing with a deus It was easy to spot a deus ex machina in ancient Greek tragedies, when a literal God ex machina: in a machine would swoop in and solve all of the characters problems. In modern times, however, an example of deus ex machina may be more subtle. 1. A sudden plot turn has been introduced with no logical explanation behind it. 2. A "magical" solution is provided to solve all of the characters problems. (It Examples of deus ex machina in fiction may include: could be literal magic or it could simply be a very implausible solution) * A character waking up and realising it was "all a dream" 3. A hero turn has turned up out of nowhere and rescued all the characters. * A hero turning up right just in time to save everyone * A sudden discovery of a super power or magical ability that solves all the plot The main thing to be on the look out when searching for an example of deus ex problems machina is a miraculous solution at the end of a story which implausibly * A sudden dramatic natural event, such as an earthquake or fire resolves the plot. * A character who magically returns from the dead The deus ex machina plot device usually involves a last minute appearance by a character who saves the day, or a sudden event that conveniently resolves the plot..
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The Character of Huckleberry Finn
    Forthcoming in Philosophy and Literature 2017 Gehrman The Character of Huckleberry Finn Kristina Gehrman University of Tennessee, Knoxville ABSTRACT: Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn is morally admirable because he follows his heart and does the right thing in a pinch. Or is he? The Character of Huckleberry Finn argues that the standard reading of Huck woefully misunderstands his literary and moral character. The real Huck is strikingly morally passive and thoroughly unreliable, and when the pinch comes, he fails Jim completely. His true character emerges when, with Iris Murdoch’s “justice and love”, we attend to Huck’s youth and his history of unmitigated abuse and neglect. Huck’s case reveals how (and how much) developmental and experiential history matter to moral character. I. Ever since Jonathan Bennett wrote about Huckleberry Finn’s conscience in 1974, Mark Twain’s young hero has played a small but noteworthy role in the moral philosophy and moral psychology literature. Following Bennett, philosophers read Huck as someone who consistently follows his heart and does the right thing in a pinch, firmly believing all the while that what he does is morally wrong.1 Specifically, according to this reading, Huck has racist beliefs that he never consciously questions; but in practice he consistently defies those beliefs to do the right thing in the context of his relationship with his Black companion, Jim. Because of this, Huck is morally admirable, but unusual. Perhaps he is an “inverse akratic,” as Nomy Arpaly and Timothy Schroeder have proposed; or perhaps, as Bennett argued, Huck’s oddness reveals the central and primary role of the sentiments (as opposed to principle) in moral action.2 But the standard philosophical reading of Huckleberry Finn seriously misunderstands his 1 Forthcoming in Philosophy and Literature 2017 Gehrman character (in both the moral/personal and the literary sense of the word), because it does not take into account the historically contingent, developmental nature of persons and their character traits.
    [Show full text]
  • Create a Character: Acting & Language Arts with Caren Graham
    Create A Character: Acting & Language Arts With Caren Graham ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS LEARNING TARGETS ● How do actors create a character? ● I can make creative choices with my voice and body ● How can characters I discover in other disciplines like to invent a variety of characters history, fairy tales, or literature come to life in ● I can create other forms of dramatic writing or drama? analyze a recording of myself performing MATERIALS NEEDED: Paper and Pencil ​ DIGITAL SUPPORT RESOURCES: <link> ​ ​ ​ INSTRUCTIONS 1. Choose a character from a favorite book. Examples: Harry Potter or Hermione Granger. 2. With pencil and paper write down 3 sentences to describe your chosen character. 3. Use descriptive words like tall, lanky, bent over. ​ ​ 4. Add personality traits like brave, scary, quick witted, confident. ​ ​ 5. Now use your imagination to create a character statue which is a frozen moment in time in a posed ​ ​ ​ position. Start with your face. Try making a “brave” facial expression! ​ a. Is there a moment in Harry Potter, when Harry or Hermione felt clever or brave? Write it ​ ​ down. b. Create that moment in a character statue and then come to life. c. Try to exaggerate (make bigger) a personality trait: for instance brave, and then switch to ​ ​ ​ another feeling or trait like scared. 6. Now add a gesture (an expressive movement) to go with that character trait! ​ ​ ​ ​ a. Move your whole body with expression, posture and gesture. Try saying something in the manner your character might speak with the gesture. b. Acting like the character, did it feel better to be brave or scared? Why? 7.
    [Show full text]
  • Narrowing the Gap Between Imaginary and Real Artifacts: a Process for Making and Filming Diegetic Prototypes
    Virginia Commonwealth University VCU Scholars Compass Theses and Dissertations Graduate School 2013 Narrowing the Gap Between Imaginary and Real Artifacts: A Process for Making and Filming Diegetic Prototypes Al Hussein Wanas Virginia Commonwealth University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd Part of the Art and Design Commons © The Author Downloaded from https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd/3142 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at VCU Scholars Compass. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of VCU Scholars Compass. For more information, please contact [email protected]. © Al Hussein Wanas 2013 All Rights Reserved 2 Approval certificate for Al Hussein Wanas for the thesis project entitled Narrowing The Gap Between Imaginary And Real Artifacts: A Process For Making And Filming Diegetic Prototypes. Submitted to the faculty of the Master of Fine Arts in Design Studies of Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar in partial fulfillment for the degree, Master of Fine Arts in Design Studies. Al Hussein Wanas, BFA In Graphic Design, Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar, Doha Qatar, May 2011. Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar, Doha Qatar, May 2013 Diane Derr ______________________ Primary Advisor, Assistant Professor Master of Fine Arts in Design Studies Patty Paine ______________________ Secondary Advisor, Reader, Assistant Professor Liberal Arts and Science Levi Hammett ______________________ Secondary
    [Show full text]
  • The Structure of Plays
    n the previous chapters, you explored activities preparing you to inter- I pret and develop a role from a playwright’s script. You used imagina- tion, concentration, observation, sensory recall, and movement to become aware of your personal resources. You used vocal exercises to prepare your voice for creative vocal expression. Improvisation and characterization activities provided opportunities for you to explore simple character portrayal and plot development. All of these activities were preparatory techniques for acting. Now you are ready to bring a character from the written page to the stage. The Structure of Plays LESSON OBJECTIVES ◆ Understand the dramatic structure of a play. 1 ◆ Recognize several types of plays. ◆ Understand how a play is organized. Much of an actor’s time is spent working from materials written by playwrights. You have probably read plays in your language arts classes. Thus, you probably already know that a play is a story written in dia- s a class, play a short logue form to be acted out by actors before a live audience as if it were A game of charades. Use the titles of plays and musicals or real life. the names of famous actors. Other forms of literature, such as short stories and novels, are writ- ten in prose form and are not intended to be acted out. Poetry also dif- fers from plays in that poetry is arranged in lines and verses and is not written to be performed. ■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■ These students are bringing literature to life in much the same way that Aristotle first described drama over 2,000 years ago.
    [Show full text]
  • The Relationship Between Plot and Genre in Short Fiction ASHLEY R LISTER a Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfilment
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by University of Bolton Institutional Repository (UBIR) Five Plots: The Relationship Between Plot and Genre in Short Fiction ASHLEY R LISTER A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the University of Bolton for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. February 2018 Contents Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................................ iii Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... iv Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 1: Literature Review ...................................................................................................... 9 An Interpretation of Genre .......................................................................................................... 9 The Components of Plot ........................................................................................................... 21 Chapter 2: Methodology ............................................................................................................. 34 A Different Approach ................................................................................................................. 34 Chapter 3: The Horror Genre ...................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • AP English Literature and Composition 2008 - 2009 Analytic Reading Round Rock High School Page 7
    SUMMER WORK DO NOT GET OVERWHELMED. Breathe. Follow instructions and you’ll be fine. I. Join the AP Lit Remind101 group: a. Text the message @aplitwshs to the number 81010. b. If you’re having trouble with 81010, try texting @aplitwshs to (669) 200-6235. II. Review the attached AP Literature Survival packet. a. Your goal is to have a general understanding of the major topics below. The packet is a collection of terms, questions, and ideas that details each of these major topics. i. diction vii. structure, plot, and conflict ii. point of view viii. tone and tone shifts iii. setting ix. writing style and changes in writing style iv. literary devices x. common archetypes and symbols v. character and character development xi. patterns vi. syntax xii. theme and universal themes b. I recommend defining any unknown words and researching any alien topics. c. If you get stuck or need help: message me through Remind101, text me, or email me with any questions regarding concepts. (Note: Youtube is also a great resource.) (Phone 404 538 4379, Email [email protected]) III. Read and annotate the following books: a. The Elements of Style by Strunk and White (free copies can be found online) i. Annotate this for grammatical rules. Guaranteed: you will find many rules of usage you didn’t know. b. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Doestoevsky c. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley d. ANNOTATION METHOD FOR NOVELS: Using your AP Literature survival packet for help, annotate your novel using the key terms and questions. This will help you with part IV.
    [Show full text]
  • Theory and Interpretation of Narrative James Phelan, Peter J
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by KnowledgeBank at OSU THEORY AND INTERPRETATION OF NARRATIVE JAMES PHELAN, PETER J. RABINOWITZ, AND ROBYN WARHOL, SERIES EDITORS FOR VANESSA, MAX, AND MILLY THE RETURN OF THE OMNISCIENT NARRATOR Authorship and Authority in Twenty-First Century Fiction PAUL DAWSON THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY PRESS COLUMBUS Copyright © 2013 by The Ohio State University. All rights reserved. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Dawson, Paul, 1972– The return of the omniscient narrator authorship and authority in twenty-first century fiction / Paul Dawson. pages cm—(Theory and interpretation of narrative) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN-13: 978-0-8142-1233-2 (cloth : alk. paper) ISBN-10: 0–8142– 1233–6 (cloth : alk. paper) 1. Fiction—Technique. 2. Omniscience (Theory of knowledge) in literature. 3. Narration (Rhetoric) I. Title. II. Series: Theory and interpretation of narrative series. PN3355.D246 2013 808.3—dc23 2013031509 Cover design by AuthorSupport.com Text design by Juliet Williams Type set in Adobe Sabon Printed by Sheridan Books, Inc. The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials. ANSI Z39.48–1992. 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 CONTENTS Acknowledgments vii Introduction The Return of Omniscience in Contemporary Fiction 1 CHaptER 1 Omniscience and Narrative Authority 25 CHaptER 2 The Direct Address and the Ironic
    [Show full text]
  • Glossary of Literary Terms
    Glossary of Critical Terms for Prose Adapted from “LitWeb,” The Norton Introduction to Literature Study Space http://www.wwnorton.com/college/english/litweb10/glossary/C.aspx Action Any event or series of events depicted in a literary work; an event may be verbal as well as physical, so that speaking or telling a story within the story may be an event. Allusion A brief, often implicit and indirect reference within a literary text to something outside the text, whether another text (e.g. the Bible, a myth, another literary work, a painting, or a piece of music) or any imaginary or historical person, place, or thing. Ambiguity When we are involved in interpretation—figuring out what different elements in a story “mean”—we are responding to a work’s ambiguity. This means that the work is open to several simultaneous interpretations. Language, especially when manipulated artistically, can communicate more than one meaning, encouraging our interpretations. Antagonist A character or a nonhuman force that opposes, or is in conflict with, the protagonist. Anticlimax An event or series of events usually at the end of a narrative that contrast with the tension building up before. Antihero A protagonist who is in one way or another the very opposite of a traditional hero. Instead of being courageous and determined, for instance, an antihero might be timid, hypersensitive, and indecisive to the point of paralysis. Antiheroes are especially common in modern literary works. Archetype A character, ritual, symbol, or plot pattern that recurs in the myth and literature of many cultures; examples include the scapegoat or trickster (character type), the rite of passage (ritual), and the quest or descent into the underworld (plot pattern).
    [Show full text]
  • The Effects of Diegetic and Nondiegetic Music on Viewers’ Interpretations of a Film Scene
    Loyola University Chicago Loyola eCommons Psychology: Faculty Publications and Other Works Faculty Publications 6-2017 The Effects of Diegetic and Nondiegetic Music on Viewers’ Interpretations of a Film Scene Elizabeth M. Wakefield Loyola University Chicago, [email protected] Siu-Lan Tan Kalamazoo College Matthew P. Spackman Brigham Young University Follow this and additional works at: https://ecommons.luc.edu/psychology_facpubs Part of the Musicology Commons, and the Psychology Commons Recommended Citation Wakefield, Elizabeth M.; an,T Siu-Lan; and Spackman, Matthew P.. The Effects of Diegetic and Nondiegetic Music on Viewers’ Interpretations of a Film Scene. Music Perception: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 34, 5: 605-623, 2017. Retrieved from Loyola eCommons, Psychology: Faculty Publications and Other Works, http://dx.doi.org/10.1525/mp.2017.34.5.605 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Faculty Publications at Loyola eCommons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Psychology: Faculty Publications and Other Works by an authorized administrator of Loyola eCommons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License. © The Regents of the University of California 2017 Effects of Diegetic and Nondiegetic Music 605 THE EFFECTS OF DIEGETIC AND NONDIEGETIC MUSIC ON VIEWERS’ INTERPRETATIONS OF A FILM SCENE SIU-LAN TAN supposed or proposed by the film’s fiction’’ (Souriau, Kalamazoo College as cited by Gorbman, 1987, p. 21). Film music is often described with respect to its relation to this fictional MATTHEW P. S PACKMAN universe. Diegetic music is ‘‘produced within the implied Brigham Young University world of the film’’ (Kassabian, 2001, p.
    [Show full text]
  • Time-Travel and Empathy: an Analysis of How Anachronous Narrative Structures Affect Character/Reader Empathy
    Department of English Time-travel and Empathy: an Analysis of how Anachronous Narrative Structures Affect Character/Reader Empathy Sophie Austin Master’s Thesis Literature Spring 2019 Supervisor: Dr. Lucy Durneen Abstract This study focuses on the relationship between the author’s narrative craft and the potential for the reader’s empathetic response. Specifically, it discusses how an anachronous narrative structure provides the author with different ways to promote empathy. The discussion of empathy is key in the discussion of narrative craft: great characters are those a reader can empathise with. But the discussion of empathy runs deeper than this, with many scholars turning to the wider effects literature can have on a reader’s moral compass (Nussbaum 1997) and even their real-world behaviour (Keen 2007). This study sets aside the question of how to produce empathy and turns instead to the author’s craft. I have assessed the author’s capability of promoting empathy by building a framework of tools for the author (dubbed The Empathy Toolbox) from several studies conducted by narratology theorists. I have then analysed this in relation to my own work and that of Audrey Niffenegger and Kurt Vonnegut with a particular focus on characterisation and how this is affected by anachrony. This study is of value to all writers of creative fiction, as anachronous timelines can be employed across a breadth of genres using plot devices like flashbacks, flash-forwards and dream sequences. Furthermore, it provides authors with tools to aid their craft and help their work resonate with any reader, not just those that might have a similar background to their protagonist.
    [Show full text]
  • ELEMENTS of FICTION – NARRATOR / NARRATIVE VOICE Fundamental Literary Terms That Indentify Components of Narratives “Fiction
    Dr. Hallett ELEMENTS OF FICTION – NARRATOR / NARRATIVE VOICE Fundamental Literary Terms that Indentify Components of Narratives “Fiction” is defined as any imaginative re-creation of life in prose narrative form. All fiction is a falsehood of sorts because it relates events that never actually happened to people (characters) who never existed, at least not in the manner portrayed in the stories. However, fiction writers aim at creating “legitimate untruths,” since they seek to demonstrate meaningful insights into the human condition. Therefore, fiction is “untrue” in the absolute sense, but true in the universal sense. Critical Thinking – analysis of any work of literature – requires a thorough investigation of the “who, where, when, what, why, etc.” of the work. Narrator / Narrative Voice Guiding Question: Who is telling the story? …What is the … Narrative Point of View is the perspective from which the events in the story are observed and recounted. To determine the point of view, identify who is telling the story, that is, the viewer through whose eyes the readers see the action (the narrator). Consider these aspects: A. Pronoun p-o-v: First (I, We)/Second (You)/Third Person narrator (He, She, It, They] B. Narrator’s degree of Omniscience [Full, Limited, Partial, None]* C. Narrator’s degree of Objectivity [Complete, None, Some (Editorial?), Ironic]* D. Narrator’s “Un/Reliability” * The Third Person (therefore, apparently Objective) Totally Omniscient (fly-on-the-wall) Narrator is the classic narrative point of view through which a disembodied narrative voice (not that of a participant in the events) knows everything (omniscient) recounts the events, introduces the characters, reports dialogue and thoughts, and all details.
    [Show full text]
  • Sustainable Development As Deus Ex Machina
    Biological Conservation 209 (2017) 54–61 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Biological Conservation journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/bioc Discussion Sustainable development as deus ex machina Claudio Campagna a,b,⁎,DanielGuevarac, Bernard Le Boeuf d a Wildlife Conservation Society, Marine and Argentina Programs, Amenábar 1595, 1426 Buenos Aires, Argentina b Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Santa Cruz, California 95064, United States c Department of Philosophy, University of California, Santa Cruz, California 95064, United States d Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Institute for Marine Sciences, University of California, Santa Cruz, California 95064, United States article info abstract Article history: The advocacy of sustainable development (SD) by governments, NGOs and scientists over the last three decades Received 3 August 2016 has failed to diminish the alarming species extinction rate fueled by overuse and habitat destruction. Attempts to Received in revised form 9 January 2017 satisfy worldwide demands for economic growth and development have, in fact, thwarted conservation efforts Accepted 25 January 2017 and greatly diminished the diversity and abundance of life forms, including key iconic species. Here, we argue Available online xxxx that this crisis is one of values rooted in a discourse that justifies development and downplays the morality of human-caused extinction of life forms. The language of SD does not convey the loss—worse, it masks or rational- Keywords: Language izes it as blameless or necessary. The language of SD represents the loss in biodiversity as fallout from the reduced Conservation discourse capacity of ecosystems to provide services for human benefit, while providing no sense of the values necessary Species crisis for conserving life for its own sake.
    [Show full text]