What if it was NEVER the Devil? | Rosemary's Baby Explained

Once Rosemary Woodhouse learns she's pregnant, other people start choosing for her: her doctor, her diet, her medicine, what she reads and whom she listens to. Most of them smile while they do it. Not one of them is the devil. This essay tells Rosemary's Baby (1968) in order, ending included, while keeping a list of who decides what. With New York in 1965 and 1966, the history of informed consent, and Ira Levin's own afterword on the novel he later felt uneasy about. The horror isn't the devil. It's a pregnancy managed by everyone except the pregnant woman. Chapters: 0:00 Hook: managed by everyone 0:58 The Bramford 1:58 The night they planned 2:45 First pause: where it starts 3:36 The doctor 5:02 Context: New York, 1965 and 1966 6:07 The wall 7:50 The cradle 8:42 My reading: the list 10:38 The book and the screen 12:38 Context: who decides, 1957 to 1972 14:30 Beyond the film 15:29 Closing Sources (plot from the film and subtitle transcripts; quotes of 15 words or fewer verified against two sources; Levin's 2003 afterword as primary source for the book): Rosemary's Baby (1968), Paramount Pictures, produced by William Castle, based on the novel by Ira Levin (Random House, 1967). Ira Levin, afterword to Rosemary's Baby (2003), on how the novel began and how he felt about it later. Context: Pope Paul VI in New York (4 October 1965); Time, 'Is God Dead?' (8 April 1966); thalidomide and Frances Kelsey (1962); Griswold v. Connecticut (1965); Canterbury v. Spence (1972). Production facts: Wikipedia and Robert Evans' retrospective interviews. My readings (the list of who decides) are mine, not Levin's. Archival images (all free-licensed, via Wikimedia Commons; credit also shown on screen): Historic American Buildings Survey, 1965, SOUTH (FRONT) FA: Jack Boucher, Public domain President's Daily Diary Entry, October 4, 1965 - DPLA - 83: President (1963-1969 : Johnson). Office , Public domain President's Daily Diary Entry, October 4, 1965 - DPLA - 83: President (1963-1969 : Johnson). Office , Public domain President's Daily Diary Entry, October 4, 1965 - DPLA - 83: President (1963-1969 : Johnson). Office , Public domain President's Daily Diary Entry, October 4, 1965 - DPLA - 83: President (1963-1969 : Johnson). Office , Public domain Historic American Buildings Survey, 1965, EAST ELEVATION.: Jack Boucher, Public domain Frances Oldham Kelsey and John F. Kennedy: unknown author, Public domain Warren Court (1962 - 1965): Supreme Court Official Photo, Public domain Spoiler note: full spoilers for Rosemary's Baby (1968), including the ending. Content note: the film contains an assault inside a dream, a mother told her baby has died, and a baby in a threatening situation. I say what happens in a sentence and show none of it. Footage and frames from the official Paramount trailer and clips of Rosemary's Baby (1968), used for commentary and criticism. Archive images are public domain and credited on screen. Summit Cinema: what you missed the first time.