Both Hendrix (2018) and King (2010) take us through the horror history of the 60s 70s and 80s. Using references, explain this process in your own words, then think about the current trends of horror movies in your life time. What kinds of social of political changes in the world during these times do you think can be reflected in the horror you’ve read/watched/heard from that particular era?
In the 1960s, changes were abundant concerning control over a woman’s body. In 1960, ‘The Pill’ was released in the public market, a drug with the ability to contain a woman’s hormones to prevent pregnancy. IUDs were released into the market in 1968. And then in 1973, abortion was legalized. Many horror films in this period also featured “evil children”. These children were prevalent in films of this era precisely because of the increasing fear regarding children, birth and pregnancies. Children in these films were “evil” in various ways, whether they were feral, ghosts, possessed or a result of monstrous births (Renner, 2016). However, in most of these pieces, the children were merely vessels of evil, they were faultless and absolved of sin (Renner, 2016). Though the blame most often lied with demoms/devils, often blame lies on absent or neglectful parenting. This brings up fears in parents. Especially with new medicines and technologies regarding children, inner fears were raised as to whether these could result in long-term harm to children. Some iconic evil children in media during this time period include the baby from ‘Rosemary’s Baby’ (1968), Damien from ‘The Omen (1976), the children in ‘The Brood’ (1979) and Regan from ‘The Exorcist’ (1973).
The 1970s had a rise in horror films of two genres, the haunted house genre and folk genre. The early 70s was the height of the hippy movement, with many people forsaking traditional religion and leaving “city life” for a more rural existence. This spawned the existence of folk horror, which usually involved an ancient rural cult discovered by an unsuspecting visitor (often from the city). Some famous movies from this genre are ‘The Blood On Satan’s Claw (1971) and ‘The Wicker Man’ (1973). The haunted house genre became prominent in the late 70s. Janicker (2014) says the haunted house is “a byword for the dark side of domesticity and the underbelly of normal society”. In the time this genre became prominent, there was rising unemployment and a national recession. There were anxieties regarding class, mortgages and equity. The ideology of the “perfect” family was obsolete. Some iconic media from this genre includes ‘The Sentinel (1988) and ‘The Shining’ (1980).
In the 70s and 80s, more woman were moving into the workforce. Because of this, their children were often sent to childcare, raising anxieties as to their children’s welfare, especially considering that the workers were usually strangers. This anxiety and paranoia was a major trigger for ‘satanic panic’. It involved hundreds of accusations that devil-worshipping paedophiles were operating America’s white middle-class suburban day care centres (Hughes, 2017). Most of these accusations were unsubstantiated, and was simply the result of mass hysteria. The panic both reflected and shaped a cultural climate dominated by the overlapping worldviews of politically active conservatives (Hughes, 2017). As a result, this time period was bombarded by films and novels based around satanic rituals, cult and possession. Some iconic media from this genre is ‘The Exorcist’ (1973), Possession (1981) and Poltergeist (1982).
There are two current trends in horror. There has been a surge in folk horror, in films such as ‘Heriditary’ (2018) and ‘Midsommar’ (2019). This could be linked to environmental and global warming concerns, and more citizens turning to a ‘green’ lifestyle. There has also been an increase in apocalyptic horror, such as ‘A Quiet Place’ (2018) and ‘Bird Box’ (2018). This also attributes to uncertainty about humanity’s future, due to both environmental and political reasons.
References
Jackinder, R (2014) The Literary Haunted House: Lovecraft, Matheson, King and the Horror in Between. McFarland & Company.
Hughes, S (2017) American Monsters: Tabloid Media and the Satanic Panic 1970–2000. Journal Of American Studies. Vol. 51, no. 3. 691-719.
Renner, K (2016) Evil children in the popular imagination. Palgrave Macmillian.
Pop Genres 2020 