“Bitch Planet” is a graphic novel based on a dystopian society where a girl falls victim to the cruelty. I believe that the main point of this text is to show the future of society if one doesn’t change, the author is using this as a representation of what may happen in the future. Through the use of dark colors, small text, and dark shadows the author conveys how terrible this world is, in order to deter society from becoming it. 

At first glance, “Bitch Planet” contains very dark and warm colors. The main colors used are brown and purple. These two dark colors lead to the reader feeling depressed, lonely, or antagonized. Penny is living a horrible life in this world where she is made fun of and treated cruelly. These colors help enhance the world Penny is living in, showing how terrible and cruel it is. There are lots of shadows especially around Penny’s body, again contributing to the dark and cruel aspects of this world. Contrast is only apparent in the section where Penny is being interrogated by the fathers. The men on the screen are all white and bright. They provide such heavy contrast compared to Penny and the other scenes in the graphic novel. The bright colors really draw the eyes. Throughout this graphic novel the eyes do not know what to focus on do to all the colors being dark, but right away it is assumed that the fathers are important because they are bright and catch the eyesight immediately. The only other area where color is used is in the beginning when Penny is with her grandmother. Obviously the color shows how this was a good moment for Penny. That she felt accepted and loved. The colors used were yellows and reds to show the happiness that was going on before she was snatched from her grandmother. Those two sections of the novel show the ‘could have been’ factor. That this is what could have happened if things did not go south. 

There is a significant amount of words within “Bitch Planet”. The bubbles containing the words are small and so is the font size. I interoperate this as the words not being as important as the images that they describe. The characters that speak the most in the novel are the fathers when they are explaining to Penny what is going on. Throughout the graphic novel the images of Penny getting frustrated and traumatized and even becoming violent are the most important. These image contain the emotion that helps portray the message of a cruel dystopian world.

“Bitch Planet” itself was very difficult to understand because of the unrealistic nature of it. I believe that the intended audience were young adults and adults. The idea of a dystopian world where it is a crime to be obese is an obscene concept. Penny, because she is different, is hauled off to speak to the leaders of the world, to basically go on trial. Not only is this unrealistic as of now, but it can also lead to what might happen in the future if the world continues on the path that it is going. The trend of the 2000’s has been dystopian books, movies, and even songs. As a society, living in the past is what is normal. The future is uncertain to all. The creators of these dystopian works of art are describe what could happen, if the world does not change. If the world does not change, women like Penny will be subject for scrutiny by a bunch of old white men on TV screens. They judge her not just for her looks, but how she acts and how she does not look like the typical women. She does not seem to know her place in society. 

Another interpretation that I feel is worth mentioning is the role of women and race in this society. The fathers on the TV screens are all white males. Penny is a black woman who happens to be obese and is thrown in front of these men to be judged. She gets probes put on her head and they make her stand in front of a mirror to find out what she really thinks of herself. This girl was snatched from her grandmother at a young age to go work with the government. Her childhood was robbed by men asserting power in society. In the scene where she is working in the muffin shop, the news is on. The women on the news is blonde, blue eyed, and skinny. She is what some would say is the perfect women. This shows that women like her play a role in society as news anchors, but women like Penny do not get much. Both race and the role of women are depleted in this society, almost as if it is the past. The question being if the society will really overcome it. Some people may not think that far into this, and that’s okay. I really do think there is a deeper aspect. Society is at a point where it can either change or break. This is a perfect example of the consequences following that. There is a level of both surrealism and realism.

Realism is the style of the images in the graphic novel. All items are realistically drawn and the characters with are not distorted. During the scene where Penny beats a man with a stick there is a use of line to show motion and force. The author also uses words like “thump” in order for the reader to hear what is happening more than just seeing it. All of these aspects enhance the detail of the graphic novel where the descriptions are shown in the pictures and not necessarily in the words on the paper. 

Overall “Bitch Planet” contains many elements worthy of the discussion. Elements of color, line, and shadows add to the dark dimension of the story. The themes of race, women in society, and cruelty lead to the idea of a dystopian world and how the world will end up like this if there is no change. The author is deterring people from becoming this society using all the elements. 
