When John-Boy Learned Sign Language: History and Disability on Walton's Mountain Haley Gienow-Mcconnell a Dissertation Submitt
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
WHEN JOHN-BOY LEARNED SIGN LANGUAGE: HISTORY AND DISABILITY ON WALTON’S MOUNTAIN HALEY GIENOW-MCCONNELL A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY GRADUATE PROGRAM IN HISTORY YORK UNIVERSITY TORONTO, ONTARIO MAY 2019 © Haley Gienow-McConnell, 2019 ii Abstract This dissertation examines CBS Television’s 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 lens—that 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. iii For my dad, Ron. Thanks for the history lectures and mini chocolate bars. For my mom, Debbie. Thanks for teaching me to walk with a purpose. iv Acknowledgements First and foremost, I owe a debt of gratitude to my supervisory committee, comprised of doctors Geoffrey Reaume, Molly Ladd-Taylor, and Beth Haller. Words fail to capture my gratitude for your insight and devotion to me and this project. Geoffrey, when first I met you in the Spring of 2012, I mistook your quiet, gentle manner for timidity, and wondered how you and this effervescent, outspoken young woman would get on. As it turns out, the answer to that is ‘famously’. You are the proverbial still water that runs deep, and I left every meeting with you feeling better about myself, and the world around us. More than just a better scholar, I feel you have made me a better person. Molly, I know I’ve shared this anecdote with you before, but it bears repeating. When one of my mentors at Brock University read up on you as I was contemplating whether or not to attend York University for my doctoral studies, he was so impressed by your accomplishments as a scholar, and so intimidated by the fact that these accomplishments co-occurred with you parenting three children, that he remarked, “Either she’s amazing, or she’s a glutton for punishment!” I can say with absolute confidence that you are the former. I may never be as accomplished or as badass as you, but I am proud to say that I am undoubtedly more accomplished and badass than I would have been without you in my corner. Beth, what can I say? We were meant to be. Each time we meet and talk, I think to myself “Fate sure knew what it was doing when it sent to me a Waltons-loving disability and media expert.” You transformed my dissertation from what I thought it should be, into what it was meant to be. I hope we have many more adventures in Schuyler, Virginia in the years to come. For my favourite professors and mentors at Brock University, doctors Murray Wickett, Daniel Samson, and Tami Friedman. Murray, in the Fall of 2007 my life changed when I attended the first lecture of HIST 2P15. Mid-way through your lecture I knew I was exactly where I was meant to be. The following year, in HIST 3P52, the seeds of this dissertation were sown when you assigned our class to write a critical analysis of historical cultural artifacts. That assignment stands out as perhaps my favourite of my undergraduate education. That I pursued a PhD at all is largely thanks to a comment you made to me two years hence in our graduate class on Migration, Ethnicity, and Identity. I began a point in seminar with, “Last night I was laying in bed and thinking…” When I concluded my point, you replied, “If that’s what keeps you up at night, you have no choice but to pursue a PhD.” Thank you for always indulging the ideas that kept me up at night, and for allowing me to be my own scholar, rather than a creation in your image. My life is the richer having worked with you, and better for having known you. Danny, a significant part of who I am today stems from a meeting we shared in your office during my first year of university. Of the exam I turned in for HIST 1F96 you remarked that, “It is the best I’ve ever seen. I’m not sure I could have written a better one myself.” When I pressed you as to why my final grade for the course wasn’t higher, you answered, “Because your final paper wasn’t as great.” Since that day, I have approached my work with tremendous self-confidence, tempered with a healthy and necessary amount of humility. Beyond that contribution, your influence in my life runs deep in other ways. You have ceaselessly and unabashedly championed me, mentored me, made time for me, and talked me down from countless proverbial ledges. You have cultivated my best instincts, and dulled my worst. You are, it has to be said, one of my favourite people. Tami, my debt to you is, perhaps, less obvious. I hope it goes without saying that I think you are one of the smartest, coolest, most radical people I know. And I hope it was evident from v my participation in HIST 2P16, and HIST 4P33 that I am big fan of your teaching, and of how you reconstruct the past with a keen view from the bottom up. But these are not the reasons you hold such a dear place in my heart. The year I was enrolled in HIST 4P33 was among the worst in my life. For reasons that don’t bear sharing in this space, I was miserable, anxious, and beset by terrible insomnia and an active eating disorder. Even though your class was among my favourites I ever took, I underperformed in that course, and I’ve always felt that I let you down. In the ensuing years since that class, you’ve have treated with the utmost respect, admiration, and intellectual curiosity. Whether or not it was your shared impression that I underperformed in that class, I have always taken your support and kindness following that class as a symbol that redemption is possible, and that when people truly see you for who you are, your mistakes don’t cloud their judgement. I carry that with me in gratitude. This project would be nothing without the legacy and influence of the late Earl Hamner, Jr. Literally. Without him there would be no Waltons, and therefore no dissertation. Earl died mere weeks before I began reaching out to the cast and crew of The Waltons for interviews for this project. I was sure that a tremendous hole would exist in this manuscript without his input. However, his voice is so clear and resolute in his body of work, and his irrepressible spirit is so strongly felt and lovingly communicated by those whose lives he touched, I feel he is present in my work. Thank you, Earl, for the gifts you left behind. To the memory of the inimitable Ellen Corby, a stroke survivor whose contributions to the entertainment industry, and to positive representations of disability on screen, I hope are better understand and acknowledged through this work. And to the memory of Patricia Neal, who delivered an iconic performance in The Homecoming, and who boldly asserted her ability and right to perform following her stroke, and for the rest of her life. I’m sorry you were denied the opportunity to reprise your role as Olivia in The Waltons. I hope this dissertation does justice to that oversight. To the memories of Ralph Waite, and Will Geer. From stories I’ve read and heard, I have a feeling we would have had a lot of fun, and a little good-natured trouble together, had we the chance to meet. Good night, Daddy. Good night, Grandpa. To Richard Thomas, who made a frigid day in Manhattan warm and memorable.