History Main / ICantLookGesture

* In ''Comicbook/LokiAgentOfAsgard'', [[spoiler:Old!Loki]] cover their eyes and proclaim that they can't bear to watch, when Loki attempts to lift Mjölnir. This is [[SubvertedTrope obviously an act]] as they're still looking through their fingers, not to mention laughing their ass off.

* Parodied in ''WesternAnimation/Breadwinners'' when SwaySway and Buhduce are stuck in space, while Ketta watches, via satellite

* ''Series/{{Community}}'' : Abed looks away in shame when he and Troy sell their best friend handshake to Pierce in "Applied Anthropology and Culinary Arts".

[[AC: Theater]]
* ''Theatre/BloodyBloodyAndrewJackson'' decides the best thing for the American settlers is to betray Black Fox and order troops to destroy the Native American tribes, but is too overcome with guilt to watch as his friend is dragged away.

* ''Series/Community'' : Abed looks away in shame when he and Troy sell their best friend handshake to Pierce in "Applied Anthropology and Culinary Arts".

* ''Series/Community'': Abed looks away in shame when he and Troy sell their best friend handshake to Pierce in "Applied Anthropology and Cul

* ''Theater/BloodyBloodyAndrewJackson'' decides the best thing for the American settlers is to betray Black Fox and order troops to destroy the Native American tribes, but is too overcome with guilt watch as his friend is dragged away.

* In ''Comicbook/LokiAgentOfAsgard'', [[spoiler:Old!Loki]] covers his eyes and proclaims that he can't bear to watch, when Loki attempts to lift Mjölnir. This is [[SubvertedTrope obviously an act]] as he is still looking through his fingers, not to mention laughing his ass off.

--> Ketta: "Oh I can't watch... without popcorn".

* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'': Iroh turns away as Zuko is burned, and scarred, across his eye by his own father.

This gesture can take a number of different styles. Popular ones include closing your eyes, covering your eyes, or, for that extra dramatic punch, turning your back. In cases of covering the eyes, you may gain the courage to peek through your fingers...or maybe not. Depending on the situation, you may also cover your ears to avoid hearing whatever it is.

This motion can be used to convey a number of different emotions. A person may use it out of fear if they are in terrible danger or out of grief if a loved one is.

* In one ''ComicStrips/CalvinAndHobbes'' strip, Calvin hides his face as he and Hobbes go plunging off a cliff in their wagon.

* ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsCloneWars'': When Master Eeth Koth is captured by General Grievous, he sends a transmission to the Jedi in which he tortures Koth with an electrostaff, causing a pair of younglings to turn away.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/AdventuresFromTheBookOfVirtues'' episode “Wisdom”, Aristotle does this near the end just as Socrates was about to take the honey from the beehive.

* In ''Series/@Midnight'', Greg Proops covers his face in fright when the subject of a weird Deviantart account dedicated to the Scooby Doo gang comes up.

* In the ‘’WesternAnimation/AdventuresFromTheBookOfVirtues’’ episode “Wisdom”, Aristotle does this near the end just as Socrates was about to take the honey from the beehive.

Some things are just too horrible to look at. Maybe it\'s the guy next door plowing into your new car. Maybe it\'s your LoveInterest falling to her death. [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking Maybe it\'s your sister taking the last cookie from the plate.]] In any case, it\'s simply unbearable to watch, so you don\'t. [[ForcedToWatch Forcing someone to watch]] at this point is usually a KickTheDog.

As you may guess, this can also be accompanied by the phrase, \"I can\'t look!\"

See also IgnoringBySinging. Compare DiscretionShot if the viewer doesn\'t see what the person is reacting to or CoverInnocentEyesAndEars if they\'re keeping another person from seeing, FacePalm if the motion is in response to a WhatAnIdiot moment, or DontLookBack, where looking behind you is forbidden for a (often) potentially deadly reason.

* In \'\'ComicBook/LoisLane\'\' #67, Lois turns her back on seeing Clark \"hurtling to his doom.\"

* \"Fanfic/AenrhienVailiuri\": Jaleh Khoroushi gasps and flinches away when [[spoiler:Morgan t\'Thavrau [[NeckSnap snaps the neck]] of the Kazon prisoner she\'s {{Neck Lift}}ing]].

* In \'\'Film/HarryPotterAndThePrisonerOfAzkaban\'\' Hermione covers her face and faces the wall when she thinks Sirius Black is about to kill Peter Pettigrew.
* Bit, the smallest of the three Pink Berets from Illumination Entertainment\'s \'\'Film/{{Hop}}\'\', turns away from the sight of a partially thawed turkey dressed in a flannel shirt that Patch levers from a boiling pot. The Pink Berets presume that this is the horrible fate of E.B., the renegade son and heir of the Easter Bunny. How an elite commando unit could confuse a frozen turkey for a rabbit carcass is never explained.
* \'\'Film/ThePhantomMenace\'\': As Anakin is preparing to start the podrace, Jar-Jar says it\'s going to be nasty and that he\'s not watching before covering his eyes.
* In \'\'Film/{{Soldier}}\'\', during the opening montage one of the child soldiers turns his head away from the dog killing the boar. His head is forced back, [[ForcedToWatch making him watch.]]
* \'\'Film/StarTrekInsurrection\'\': During one of Ru\'afo\'s flesh-stretching sessions, Admiral Dougherty keeps wincing and glancing aside during the procedure.
* The 1962 version of \'\'State Fair\'\' opens with the mother finishing her mince meat recipe to be judged at the fair. Despite her family\'s urging, she refuses to add any cooking brandy to the mix, considering it cheating. At the last minute, she gives in and puts her arm across her eyes as she dumps the entire bottle of brandy into the mince meat.
* Detective Eddie Valiant from Touchstone Pictures\' \'\'Film/WhoFramedRogerRabbit\'\' watches as most of [[BigBad Judge Doom]] succumbs to the driverless steamroller, but averts his gaze as Doom\'s head meets the roller. It takes Roger Rabbit to point out to Eddie that Judge Doom is not finished yet, despite being rolled flat.

* \'\'Literature/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy\'\' has a variant with its \"peril sensitive sunglasses\" that instantly turn completely opaque if anything dangerous or threatening appears to spare you the sight of it.

* In \'\'Series/TheAdventuresOfSuperman\'\' episode \"[[Recap/TheAdventuresOfSupermanS1E21TheHumanBomb The Human Bomb]]\", Lois covers her face and turns her back when ComicBook/JimmyOlsen falls off the \'\'Planet\'\' building\'s ledge.
* \'\'Series/AreYouBeingServed\'\': Mrs Slocumb, upon seeing Captain Peacock crossdressing (for a fancy dress party), covers her eyes, then peeks out between her fingers.
* \'\'Series/BabylonFive\'\': When Emperor Cartagia brings Londo and Vir to see G\'Kar be tortured by an electro-whip, Vir hides behind Londo, looking at the floor or to the side, seeming about to throw up.
* In the \'\'Series/{{Firefly}}\'\' episode \"[[Recap/FireflyE08OutOfGas Out of Gas]]\" the injured Zoe goes into cardiac arrest and Simon has to deliver a ShotToTheHeart. Inara flinches away as he slams the needle into Zoe\'s chest.
* In the first episode of \'\'Series/GameOfThrones\'\', Bran tags along with his father and brothers to witness his father execute the Night\'s Watch deserter. Bran makes a slight movement to turn his head and Jon Snow tells him not to look away because his father would know.
* In the \'\'Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries\'\' episode \"Space Seed\", Uhura turns off the viewing screen [[ForcedToWatch on which Khan is showing them Kirk suffocating.]]

* In one \'\'ComicStrips/CalvinAndHobbes\'\' strip, Calvin hides his face as he and Hobbes go plunging off a cliff in their wagon.
-->\'\'\'Hobbes\'\'\': We\'re headed for that cliff!
-->\'\'\'Calvin\'\'\': I don\'t want to know about it!

* \'\'WesternAnimation/AladdinTheSeries\'\': When a series of booby traps in the Sultan\'s treasury, Iago gets caught in one intended to behead its victim, and Jasmine covers her eyes moments before the blade strikes. Fortunately, [[PlotArmor in addition to being one of the main characters]], Iago\'s much smaller than a human and the blade only removes the feathers on the top of his head.
* In the FiveEpisodePilot of \'\'WesternAnimation/DuckTales\'\', Scrooge and Donald say that they can\'t look and cover their eyes during one of [[CaptainCrash Launchpad\'s]] landings. Launchpad says \'\'he\'\' can\'t look either and covers \'\'his\'\' eyes.
* Invoked then subverted in an episode of \'\'WesternAnimation/{{Rugrats}}\'\'. Angelica tricks Tommy and Chuckie into going and getting a cake from the kitchen right under the adults\' noses using \"invisibility creme\". As she watches them, certain they\'re about to be caught, she chuckles then turns away, saying, \"I can\'t watch...yes I can.\"
* In the \'\'WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooWhereAreYou\'\' episode \"Go Away Ghost Ship\", Velma and Daphne shut their eyes (Fred covers his) to avoid seeing Shaggy and Scooby [[ItMakesSenseInContext crashing into a pile of tires.]]
* In \'\'WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants\'\' episode \"Demolition Doofus\", Mrs. Puffs is among the audience during demolition derby while Spongebob participates in it. When the derby is about to start, she covers her eyes and says \"I can\'t look\". However, since she talked Spongebob into it with the intention of getting him killed, she quickly changes her mind, uncovers her eyes and says \"Wait... yes I can!\"

* A classic AudienceReaction to \'\'Series/DoctorWho\'\' villains, especially Daleks, is to hide behind the duvet.
** In \'\'The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot\'\' Creator/PeterDavison and his young sons are watching the 2012 Christmas episode; one of them is behind the sofa.
** \'\'Series/ChildrenInNeed\'\' presenters often warn people to get behind the duvet just before showing the \'\'Doctor Who\'\' specials made for them.