When John-Boy Learned Sign Language: History and Disability on Walton's Mountain

This dissertation examines CBS Televisions historically-based drama The Waltons (1972-1981) as a case study in disability and American cultural history. Produced throughout the 1970s and the very early 1980s, but set in the 1930s and 1940s, The Waltons affords a unique opportunity to view disability through a layered lensthat is through the historical veneer of the Great Depression and World War Two in which the show was set, as well as through the ideological and material circumstances of the 1970s during which the series was produced. The series was not explicitly about disability, but depicted it often, and in a variety of ways with varying results. Relying on oral research with key figures in The Waltons production history, as well as on the show itself as text, I unearthed the story of how and why, under unique cultural circumstances and at the hands of certain groups of people, specific ideas and images about disability filled television screens. These discoveries enlightened me to the fact that, in addition to images and ideas expressed in a visual medium such as television, the circumstances leading to the production of said images and ideas are significant considerations for analysis. This dissertation argues that to properly understand the history of disability on screen and to effectively mitigate its stigmatizing legacy, scholars must look beyond the images of disability that have long graced television screens and consider the people and production processes that brought them to light. As this research demonstrates, the life experiences, professional constraints, material and cultural circumstances, and personal views of those involved in making The Waltons influenced the series depictions of disability, suggesting that when it comes to disability and popular media, what we see is not a straightforward transmission of ideas and beliefs about disability. Rather, these representations of disability are an amalgam of circumstances and influences. Understanding these processes is an important step in understanding the interplay of disability, history, and popular culture. Such an approach would likewise be beneficial for unpacking representations of other identity groups for whom representation is especially significant.