Cinema of Isolation: A History of Physical Disability in the Movies

Examines hundreds of Hollywood movies, finds their place within mainstream society, & uncovers the movie industry s practices for maintaining the status quo -- keeping people with disabilities dependent & in their place. He offers a dazzling array of physically disabled characters who embody or break out of the stereotypes that have both influenced & been symptomatic of society s fluctuating relationship with its physically disable minority. He observes the arrival of a new set of stereotypes tied to the growth of science & technology in the 1970s & 1980s, & underscores recent movies that display a newfound sensitivity.