Diversity Across Nations.Philadelphia: Temple Uni-
versity Press, 1999. Focuses on gains within the la-
bor movement in the United States and Canada,
including domestic partner benefits.
Shilts, Randy.And the Band Played On: Politics, People,
and the AIDS Epidemic. New York: St. Martin’s
Press, 1987. Examines the AIDS crisis, including
the disease, its origins, and the social opprobrium
faced especially by gay men.
Jessie Bishop Powell
See also ACT UP; AIDS epidemic; AIDS Memorial
Quilt; Bakker, Jim and Tammy Faye;Bowers v.
Hardwick; Falwell, Jerry; Moral Majority; Reagan,
Ronald; Swaggart, Jimmy; Televangelism;Torch Song
Trilogy; White, Ryan.
Horror films
Definition Movies featuring violence or the
supernatural whose purpose is to shock and
frighten viewers
During the 1980’s, horror films completed their transition
away from being considered children’s fare, as they were tar-
geted instead at young-adult audiences. An emphasis on
graphic gore and special effects was at the center of this re-
packaging, and it also resulted in significant controversy
in a era often characterized by cultural conservatism.
Horror films had been considered a children’s genre
for most of their existence; in 1969, the first full
year of the Motion Picture Association of America
(MPAA) rating system, the gory, sexyDracula Has
Risen from the Gravereceived a G rating. The 1970’s
were a transitional period, with films such asThe Ex-
orcist(1973) andThe Texas Chainsaw Massacre(1974)
establishing the idea of R-rated, adult horror. Still,
the majority of American horror films appealed to
youth: as late as 1979, the makers ofAlienhoped to
win a PG rating.
The turning point for the horror genre came in
1980 withFriday the 13th, a low-budget “slasher”
movie. The film had been inspired by the phenome-
nal success of 1978’sHalloween, but it featured added
gore effects by Tom Savini, a makeup artist highly in-
fluential throughout the decade. Its slit throats, ax in
a head, and decapitation scenes thrilled audiences,
but they also brought criticism to the MPAA ratings
board for being too lenient in assigning the film only
an R rating. From then on, the board watched slasher
movies carefully and, for a time, all but the smallest
amounts of bloodletting garnered an X rating.
Nevertheless, slasher films were so inexpensive
and successful that the formula was endlessly copied
in films such asManiac(1980),The Burning(1980),
andThe Prowler(1981), all featuring Savini’s special
makeup effects. These films were generally either re-
cut to pass the MPAA board with an R rating or, as in
the case ofManiac, released “unrated.” TheFriday the
13thfranchise continued to flourish, and copycat
“holiday horror” movies followed in its wake, includ-
ingMother’s Day(1980),My Bloody Valentine(1981),
Prom Night(1980),Happy Birthday to Me(1980), and
Graduation Day(1981); it appeared no holiday would
remain unscathed. These various stalker and slasher
films—in which teenagers engage in illicit behavior
before being slaughtered—are traditionally viewed
as a product of the cultural conservatism of the
1980’s. The “bad kids” get killed in such films, while
the virgin lives to fight another day (or in the next se-
quel). Another explanation for the films’ formula
(one logically compatible with the first) is that it was
the least expensive, easiest way to get as much sex,
nudity, bloodshed, and horror on screen as possible
on a limited budget. These, it was believed, were the
elements a teenage audience would want to see.
While the stalker and slasher films threaten to
dominate discussions of 1980’s horror, it is important
to consider the many creative, innovative horror films
of the period as well. Brian De Palma directed the styl-
ish horror-thrillersDressed to Kill(1981),Blow Out
(1981), andBody Double(1984), arousing the ire of
feminist protesters who objected to his artfully staged
murder scenes. Stanley Kubrick offered his highly an-
ticipated and controversial version of Stephen King’s
The Shiningin 1980: It divided critics and enthusiasts
more than did any other adaptation of King’s work.
Other such King adaptations in the 1980’s in-
cluded well-received versions ofChristine(1982) and
Cujo(1983), as well as King’s own collaboration with
George A. Romero,Creepshow(1982), an homage to
the horror comics of the 1950’s. Meanwhile, Cana-
dian David Cronenberg, one of the most prolific and
creative talents in the genre, continued directing fas-
cinating and wildly erratic science-fiction horror
films such asScanners(1980), with its infamous “ex-
ploding head” scene;Videodrome(1983), which chal-
lenged the boundaries of reality and illusion;The
Dead Zone(1983), a straightforward adaptation of486 Horror films The Eighties in America