Talk:Plot device

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[edit] Deus Ex Machina

Pretty sure the definition of Deus Ex Machina is incorrect. The article calls it a 'strange' or 'unusual' resolution, but I believe it's more commonly associated with an unlikely, improbable resolution (i.e. God arriving on Earth and saving the day).

[edit] Additional plot devices

Maybe those are plot devices, I'm not sure:

  • Amnesia
  • Unescapable Location
  • Chase
  • Hostage situation
  • Fight
  • Internal crisis
  • Dispute
  • Trial

Could somebody comment on them? Peter S. 12:32, 23 Jun 2005 (UTC)


Could also refer to Mary Sue and the Evil Overlord and "Overused Science Fiction Plot Devices" websites.

Who in their right mind would consider evil overlords overused? Just imagine how much better TV would be if more were used. Pat Sajak- Uh oh, looks like Baron von Chaos has replaced the all-expenses-paid trip to Hawaii space on the wheel with another bankrupt, and the free spin now has some poison arrow launcher rigged up to it. Good luck contestants!
Most of these are not plot devices. A plot device is something that serves to advance the story towards where the author wants it to go without playing any other part. A fight, for example, may or may not be a plot device. A case where the protagonist is attacked for no reason, but the attacker leaves something behind that allows him to move to the next part of the story, that would be a plot device. But the climactic fight where the hero battles the villain on the edge of the cliff is not a plot device - it's the point of the story. Likewise a chase is usually an element of the story, not a device to advance it. 199.71.183.2 (talk) 21:51, 22 November 2007 (UTC)
Mary Sue isn't a plot device because her purpose isn't to advance the plot. The purpose of the story is to have the character in the story, so really the plot is a "character device" if you like. 199.71.183.2 (talk) 15:42, 23 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] How about the following under Plot device?

  • Evil characters are now Good and Good Character are now evil switch. Hero either goes into alterantive universe by accident such as in Star Trek "Mirror, Mirror" or goes back in time and changes the past as in epsiode of "Danny Phantom". In either case "Good" Characters are now "Evil" and "Evil Characters are now "Good".
There seems to be a de facto collection location for these at Mirror Universe (Star Trek). Kineticman 17:19, 19 April 2006 (UTC)
  • Evil gang aginst Hero. Various Evil Villinas having been defeated by hero, gang up against hero and put him/her in deadly peril. Despite this, hero escapes and deposes Evil Villians

These are literary cliches, not plot devices. They are the plot, they don't advance it. 199.71.183.2 (talk) 21:52, 22 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Not plot devices

As the article says, a plot device is a thing or event introduces solely for advancing the plot(or story). That means stuff like the sword you have to collect to save the world, or the sudden appearance of pirates who capture the hreoine. Anything that doesn't serve that purpose isn't a plot device, including stock characters, literary cliches etc. I've removed a whole load of stuff that doesn't qualify. 199.71.183.2 (talk) 21:36, 22 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Sexual tension

I removed 'sexual tension' as a plot device, because it usually isn't one (it doesn't drive the plot, or if it does then it's the point of the plot, not a device). Can whoever added it come up with some examples of sexual tension being used as a plot device? 199.71.183.2 (talk) 20:17, 26 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Proposed merge

I would like to see this article merged with MacGuffin. The two concepts are so similar as to be indistinguishable. In fact from the definitions in the articles I can't see a difference at all. Any objections? DJ Clayworth (talk) 21:00, 23 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Not a cliche

Just to be clear a plot device is not a narrative cliche - or rather all narrative cliches are not plot devices. A plot device is an object whose nature is unimportant and whose sole purpose is to advance the plot. All the other narrative cliches are just that - not plot devices.

The sacrifice of Harry Potter's parents, for example, is not a plot device. Yes, it allows the story to move ahead (well, to begin actually) but it serves so much more than that. Love and sacrifice become significant themes in the book, and the difference between the Potters giving up their lives for others and Voldemort doing anything not to give up his own life is central to the books. Now if Harry Potter had been saved by a passing superwizard who was never seen again, THAT would be a plot device! DJ Clayworth (talk) 14:16, 30 April 2008 (UTC)