My wife and I were discussing this, how much do you think the world around us affects what we consider horror or put out as horror. The 70's, 80's and even 90's had horror movies that reflected the times or the times reflected them.
Thoughts?
I think pretty much the time has past where current-day acts make us look at the genre differently. Back in the 1930's and 1940's, the ongoing warfare likely made audience members look at the genre in a new way, but now, I don't think any of the modern atrocities (drone strikes on innocents, bombing hospitals, etc) really change much in how the general populace perceive horror, or put out as horror.
Not sure that's exactly what you meant, but there you go. [*laugh*]
That said, there are recent horror movies that are deeply rooted in politics, such as 2010's Territories (dealing with racism and references Guantanamo Bay) and Undocumented (a found footage dealing with abuse toward people crossing the U.S.-Mexican border). Get Out (2017) likely had political influences, as did The First Purge, or Election Year before that (as base and Hollywood as it is).
Yep, pretty much what I was looking for. That there are movies you really could only make at or after certain times. How times are reflected in the Horror we make.