HCE Paragraph Assignment – “It’s a bird”

HCE Writing Its a bird GR9 Brent A

The image I chose was “It’s a Bird,” created by Christian Cooper

What do I see when I look at this image?

I see multiple characters in this image; however, I think there are two main characters. One has a dark skin tone with curly hair and is seen usually smiling in these photos. As the second character is white and has blonde hair, who is only seen aggravated in each panel. The blonde hair lady yells at the dark skin tone man. She claims she will call the authorities and tell them that a black man is threatening her life.

However, no reaction comes out of the man. Behind the man, it seems like many people like him, dark skin toned, look a bit unsettled, some infuriated, some sad looking. I like to think it’s his ancestors or family members, who are going through what he’s going through. He closes his eyes, walks past her, and observes the nature around him. You can tell what emotions and atmosphere are implied in each panel. When the woman is yelling, you can see her words are bolded, and there is a red ominous aura around her speech bubble. The man doesn’t speak; however, you can tell his facial expressions are quite relaxed. And there is a word that reaches out to him in the last panel. That word is “Look—” and it’s in a white, and relaxing font. In that same panel, the man takes out his goggles and observes the nature around him.

How does it make me feel?

It makes me feel a bit unsettled, but also feel thankful, and peaceful. It unsettles me that these types of things happen, many people blame others with negative accusations only because of their skin color. However, what makes me a bit happy in this image, is that the man on the receiving hand ignores what the lady is accusing him of. Not in an annoyed, or infuriating way, but he just simply walks past her and observes the nature around him. And I feel like his peaceful reaction implies that he would never threaten anyone’s life.

What does the image/picture trying to say?

I think the image and picture are trying to say that a lot of people attack and falsely accuse people of negative or illegal actions, without knowing them. Like how in this photo, the woman was threatening the man that an African American is threatening her life. But you can tell the woman was lowering her voice when she watched the man walk past her and admire the nature around him. It says a lot about some people who like to think they are better than others because of their own skin color. In conclusion, I think the whole meaning of this is to, not make assumptions based on people’s skin color. They are just like you, a human with a heart.