"You May Look like a Motion Picture Dreamboat, but You Are the Biggest Freak of Them All" : Understanding Disability in American Horror Story

[ABSTRACT ONLY; NO FULL TEXT] This article explores the different types of rhetorics that are often used when disability is discussed throughout popular culture. These rhetorics are often harmful to the disability community, but ones that have potential are the "rhetoric of emancipation" and the "rhetoric of horror" when the horror stems from how hegemonic culture treats the "other" instead of the "other" being horrific. The series American Horror Story: Freak Show is analyzed to explore to what extent this offers a new outlook of how disability is treated throughout popular culture by using the rhetoric of emancipation and the rhetoric of horror. While there are still problematic aspects of this series, it moves in a new direction that is hopeful for the disability community. This articles also explores the potential of this series bringing positive representation to different types of disabilities, and what can be done to continue to move forward.