ABSTRACT
This chapter explores how the disjuncture between the cultural perceptions and the political realities of disability has shaped the production, content, and audience of popular culture. Schlitzes performance and his life are part of the web of meaning that American culture has sewn around the concept of disability. Sociologists think about disability in a unique way that is very different from how it is often understood, especially in the media and public discussions. Those sociologists who study disability often examine the issue through a lens known as the social model of disability. This model treats disability as a consequence of social inequalities and understands the concept of disability as a form of social construction. Laura Kissel a documentary filmmaker, does not identify as disabled, but her work largely focuses on the politics of disability in the United States. The subject of disability in popular culture provides some interesting autoethnographical possibilities.
