A star of IG exhibitions and theory, Robby the Robot was more than a mascot for the Independent Group. "Robby...symbolizes the machine age in its vivid, superstitious, and current forms," wrote Lawrence Alloway. Robby shows us that machines are men and men are machines. Unfailingly courteous in his "basic inhibition against harming rational beings" (as noted in the film), he is technology as paterfamilias. Robby knows best. IG could not have but loved the idea of bringing High Art (Shakespeare) down to the level of science fiction in a Tempest-derived plot. This futuristic Freudian fable deftly links the Oedipal Complex with the A-Bomb; the forbidden planet is the uncharted territory of the human subconscious. Of course that's a tall order for a sci-fi script, but Forbidden Planet's effects-the id-beast made visible, eerie electronic tones, a pallette of aquas and peach, and set design in which angular doorways open onto other doorways in a cavernous mindscape-are a match for its lofty intent.