Makers' Intent
The movie is directly based off of the 1972 novel of the same name written by Ira Levin, and was published during the midst
of the second wave feminist movement. Levin was inspired to write it after reading the novel “Future Shock” by Alvin Toffler
and Adelaide Farrell wherein the book mentions the use of domestic robots, and after reading about
the presidential animatronics at Disney that were created at the time. Levin was also inspired
due in part to the fact that he considered himself to be a feminist when he wrote the novel, and
had read incredibly famous feminist literature like Simone de Beauvoir's “The Second Sex,” and Betty
Friedan's “The Feminine Mystique.” In his novels, he consistently tried to portray grand societal issues
and their larger implications. In this instance, Levin took inspiration from feminist movements and
their primary causes and decided to combine them with the developments and potential growth for technology at the time. Second
wave feminism focused on women's sexuality, reproductive rights, and women in the workplace. It opposed the patriarchal ideas
that women must be relegated to the domestic sphere.