Since the beginning of human existence there has always been a societal norm. People who stick out or don’t worry about what society thinks about them have always been outcasts or looked down upon. Why does this happen? Is it that people naturally just disagree and if someone does something in a different way than them they are considered weird, or is there an underlining meaning within society as a whole? There will always be the popular group and then the outlying groups, but if they didn’t feel the need to judge each other, then society as a whole might be better off. In the scene of diving into Penelope’s deepest desires of Sue Kelly DeConnick’s “Bitch Planet” she uses many different visual cues to argue that individuals shouldn’t conform to society’s standards, instead just embrace themselves. 

One visual cue that DeConnick used were people, each and every person serves a unique purpose in the image. For starters there’s Penelope; the viewer sees her from two sides, one restrained and confined and in the mirror she’s laughing and having the time of her life. The mirror represents Penelope’s ideal version of herself so this implies that she doesn’t want to change no matter how differently she is perceived. DeConnick uses this analogy to show the reader that it is okay to be who you are as long as you’re happy the rest of the world will just have to deal with it. The imprisonment setting makes it easier for a reader to clearly see the underlying message of the text as a whole. Another important aspect of the panel are the men in the background. They appear to be shocked and terrified by what they’re seeing. As if since Penelope is in a prison her ideal self could never be her the way she is now. This is the authors way of showing that if you are different society will be scared of you and most likely try to distance themselves from you. Alas, who ever said that was a bad thing. Everyone in the world isn’t meant to get along, the world is too imperfect for that. If we as a people could solve this problem, it could lead to the solving of many more impactful problems.

Another visual text conveyed in the panel was the uses of color and shading. Everything except the mirror in the image is dark and almost seems to have a shadow cast over it. This could be explained as simply as the lighting of the room in the scene, but there is a deeper purpose to the shading. The author is shouting to the reader that the mirror is the focal point of this image. Not only is it the brightest part of the picture but it has big yellow words drawn into it, yet another way to grab attention. DeConnick wants the reader to focus on this because Penelope’s ideal self is her as she is in the moment, and just because people want her to change it creates a stronger emphasis for her self-motivation not to change. Secondly the men in the background, all men no women, are drawn in all darker colors. One point of this is just to prove that Penelope is in fact the main character of the comic but there are many conclusions that can be draw from this. Society as a whole is hardly ever good, meaning that the popular thing to do is usually one of the self-centered and narcissistic things to do as well. These men are drawn darkly because in the authors mind they are the enemy and she wants the reader to see that as well.

 DeConnick went out of her way to purposefully make sure that the characters in the background of the panel were all men. This could just be a feminist outlook on the scenario, or it could have a deeper meaning, diving into one of the long lasting problems America has always had. Since the establishing of this country the government has been run mostly by the upper class of America, and these usually end up being white men. That’s why the only African American male in the background is in the corner, as if to show that there’s the minority percentage in our government today and we just shove them in the corner like they don’t really matter. The author is using Penelope as an example that women can and need to stand up for themselves in today’s working world.

Lastly DeConnick uses gaze as a powerful metaphor in the panel. As Penelope stares into the mirror the image she sees is herself, as she is now, laughing hysterically. The look on all the men’s faces in anger or disappointment. While society might look down on you for being different and consider you strange or crazy, that’s no excuse to get down about anything. Laughing in their faces is a wonderful way of showing the world you don’t care what they think about you and you’re happy just the way you are.

Kids growing up in the world today have to go through a lot. Puberty alone is a nightmare all by itself and if a kid isn’t a part of the popular group at school it can be a miserable experience. While it might occur the most, it’s not just kids either, people of any age can deal with problems of fitting in. As Penelope sat there and stared into her vision of her ideal self and nothing changed a powerful image was created. This was DeConnick’s way of showing the reader that no matter what anybody says about you as long as you are happy with yourself then it truly doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks. Once one is happy with themselves the rest of life will come easier to them because there’s one less thing to worry about.   
