Just a quick question of opinion: when reporting on or making crises (civil war or genocide, for example) known, is the use of pictures more powerful than words, and why?
(Photographer: Steve McCurry. Photograph of Sharbat Gula, 1985)
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Personally, I think pictures are much more powerful because they give the reader an inside view. "A picture is worth 1000 words" is a common saying, but I'd say that a picture is worth even more. Pictures make a crisis more tangible and it is easier for the reader to see what is actually going on. A report can say, "one person was hung today", but a picture of this person being hung is way more powerful--it really hits you.
The picture posted here is actually kind of scary. The girl's eyes bring out emotions of fear and surprise. While this picture doesn't tell exactly what is going on, like a report might, it enhances the potential story and makes it more real.
Of course the best way to report news would be to include pictures and words, but if I had to choose one, I'd pick pictures because they can be very powerful.
hmm..interesting question.
I think the answer depends on both the person and the situation, like Aileen was saying. For example, some people have more visual relationships with the world, while others tend to respond more to written work. Also, it depends on what is going on. While pictures can convey certain emotions and depth which words on a page cannot, there are often cases in which the author of a text is able to paint a clearer picture of the situation than the image itself.
Personally, I usually find that images are more powerful, as they are able to give me a "humanity" context that I sometimes have trouble finding in written pieces.
A Picture can shock the senses. Words are intangible and can be interpreted differently by any individual. Only one idea can be described and it is a narrow flow of description. A picture can display the blunt truth; everything in the picture interacting with eachother.
As a very visual person, I find pictures to be more powerful than words, especially when talking about subjects such as genocide. I think that while reports can offer a plethora of concrete information, a picture can put a face or evoke an emotion in relation to those facts, which I think people are more inclined to relate to. I think that words, because they are used and seen in every aspect of our lives, can often become un-exciting or "just some more words", while a picture most often is a unique representation of an event or information that is less likely to be duplicated and thus is more engaging.
This also got me thinking about how I, and I'm sure many others, often look at the pictures and read the captions in a newspaper or other media first. Why?
I think it depends on the picture and it depends on the speaker. A charismatic speaker may be able to better portray a situation than a not so good picture. Furthermore, pictures, like words, can be easily distorted. So - which do you consider more reliable? especially considering today's technology..
I know people (including me) have been commenting whether they think images are more powerful than words....which is good...
BUT, this picture really struck me, so I decided to find out more. It turns out that this picture was featured on a National Geographic cover back in 1985. Nobody knew who the person was or her situation. However, people did realize that her facial expression and gaze were really enchanting.
Searching for the "Afghan Girl" was a major expedition and she has been recently located in Afghanistan. Sharbat Gula was finally discovered living in a small village leading a life of Muslim traditions.
It turns out that Sharbat survived a refugee camp in Pakistan, but she now has a rather normal life: married with four children.
I think that pictures like this (that are so intruiging) have the potential of grabbing the attention of viewers everywhere. While text or words take more effort to read and are less likey to be remembered, a (good) photograph will stick with someone for a long time. Also, pictures can tell stories within themselves. This picture leaves the viewer with a sense of mystery because they don't know the woman's situation but this keeps them thinking, wanting to know her history.
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