Robots used to be a big deal. Back in the 50s and 60s people pretty much assumed that robots would do all the shit-kicking jobs and the human population could retire to a life of four hour working weeks, flying cars and space adventure.
It didn’t work out quite like that and everyone in the western world lost interest in robots when it became obvious they weren’t going to be our personal slaves. Not without there being some kind of robot uprising that would see us all dead.
That’s what makes these promo shots from 1956’s
Forbidden Planet so great. They’re from a more innocent time. A time when robots taking women out dancing, brushing their hair and touching them in weird ways didn’t imply they were sexing each other.