Selected Portrayals of Persons with Disabilities in Books and Film: 1930 - 1990 Main Exhibit July - September 1999 Over the course of the twentieth century, books, films, and other media have presented a variety of portrayals of individuals with disabilities, ranging from Lon Chaney in the 1923 film Phantom of the Opera, drawn from Gaston Leroux's classic novel, to Tom Hanks in the 1994 release Forrest Gump, based on a story by Winston Groom. These portrayals reflect the language and attitudes of their creators as well as the artistic and popular cultures of the years in which the works were created. Drawn from primarily UCLA Library collections, the books, posters, screenplays, musical scores, and other materials in this exhibit present some of these portrayals. In organizing this exhibit, the members of the UCLA Library Committee on Diversity have used the term 'disability' as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 which states in part: "The term disability means, with respect to an individual a.) a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of the major life activities of such individual; b.) a record of such an impairment; or c.) being regarded as having such an impairment." Due to space limitations, only materials that depict 'physical' disabilities have been included. The exhibit contents represent only a sample of UCLA Library materials on the subject of disabilities. Please visit the Library's Home Page (http://www.library.ucla.edu/) for additional information on the Library's collections and services.