Choose an excerpt (page, panel, multiple panels, part of a panel) for close study.
Take a photo of the section you’re discussing and insert that image at the top of your post. (Pay attention to image resolution, size, alignment in your post.)
In your post — 300-400 words—describe how the pictorial depiction 1) helps convey accurate (or heightened) understanding of the event, and 2) affects you, perhaps to the point of conviction, by its use of graphic “rhetoric” (e.g., page layout including panel, gutter, and border size/placement; speech balloons, text boxes, and their relationship to images; and the artist’s style). Remember to tag your section leader under “category.”
As I was reading the book, the most shocking moment for me was on page 135. Usually, there aren’t pictures that take up a full page, so when there is a large image, there is a lot of emphasis put on them. Page 135 was especially disturbing for several reasons. For the first time in the book, they talk about injustice when dealing with innocent children. Since the book has mostly been about conflicts between adults, it was a change of pace when we saw a full blown image of an interaction between a white cop and a young black child.
Here, we see two completely opposite worlds clash together. The entire book portrays white cops as ruthless, violent people who have no regard for human life. When we see that picture of a cop interact with an innocent, young black girl who simply doesn’t understand why she isn’t treated as equal, it enhances the perceptual schemas of both the girl and the cop. Basically, it makes the cop seem more evil and it makes the girl seem more innocent. I think this image did an incredible job at capturing the type of emotions and tension that was being dealt with then. One of the reasons why this particular page spoke to me is because of the contrast between what appears to be a peaceful encounter with the cop and girl and the chaotic background of children getting arrested. The image in the foreground appears to be quiet and intimate, especially with the police officer on one knee to be on an equal level as the girl. This is the first intimate scene with both a white cop and a black person. When looking closer at the image, we can see the cop’s mean facial expressions brutally staring at this young black girl, who’s blank stare conveys the feeling of innocence. Overall, the strong emphasis on the contrasting nature of this image helps to give the reader an understanding of the tension that people were living under at that time.
After discussing this image in class, I realized how much I missed from my initial analysis. A big thing that was mentioned was the wedding ring on the police officer’s hand. At first, I thought that the ring had little significance and dismissed it as a coincidence. After further thought, it became apparent that it was intentional. The author took the extra time to actually draw a ring. The ring humanizes the white cop, who previously had no humanity. The ring means that the officer is married, meaning he’s capable of love, which is the exact opposite of what white cops were presented as. Furthermore, the ring increases the likelihood that he has children of his own. How could a father treat these children with such brutality?