As this book took shape over the months of 2020, two controversies occurred that spoke directly to its themes. In July, the Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) caused a stir in the Australian arts community when it announced that it would remove Sandra Wollner’s film The Trouble with Being Born (2020) from its online festival programme. The film had premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival earlier that year where it won the Special Jury Prize, and it was subsequently selected for MIFF’s programme. The film tells the story of an android named Elli (Lena Watson) who has the appearance of a ten-year-old child. In the first half of the film, she appears to be in a sexual relationship with her adult owner, whom she calls ‘Papa’. MIFF initially programmed The Trouble with Being Born for its in-person event but was forced to pivot online due to a COVID-19 outbreak in the city of Melbourne. Before the festival went live, however, MIFF announced that it would remove Wollner’s film:

MIFF’s decision occurred during, and in response to, the writing of an article about the film for the city’s daily broadsheet, The Age. The piece included the opinion of two psychologists who suggested that The Trouble with Being Born could be used as material for paedophiles. These experts also expressed worry about the impact of at-home streaming during lockdown, which meant the film could be watched alone and thus used as pornographic material. (Of the two psychologists, one had only watched part of The Trouble with Being Born and the other had not seen it at all.)