Photos, Photography, and Images - The Superiority of Images Over Words :: Free Argumentative Essays

The Superiority of Images Over Words The battle for superiority and dominance between words and images is long and on-going. Both can be found everywhere, mostly in books, magazines, television, paintings, and movies. However, in more recent years, the dominance of images over words can be seen. In a world where better, faster, and easier communication is necessary, images are a far better option than words. Mitchell Stephens in â€Å"By Means of the Visible: A Picture’s Worth,† Ward Churchill in â€Å"Crimes Against Humanity,† and the director of Within These Walls, Mike Robe, concur that images such as gestures, symbols, and pictures have a widespread and profound influence. In truth, â€Å"painting is much more eloquent than speech, and often penetrates more deeply into one’s heart† (Stephens 473). Thus, images are more powerful than words because they communicate more clearly and concisely, cater for a wider and more diverse audience, and connect with people on a deepe r level. Images such as pictures dominate words because they can relay messages in a clear and succinct manner. The purpose of being able to communicate in the most effective way possible is to spread knowledge and information. However, when miscommunication becomes a factor and a problem, the quality of the knowledge being relayed becomes tainted. Stephens has found that images are a way to remedy this. He reasons that because â€Å"primates are visual animals, and think best in pictorial or geometric terms,† humans need images in order to fully explain and/or understand a concept (480). Unfortunately, the Nazis understood the power of this theory. Churchill found that while spreading anti-Semitic propaganda, the Nazis drew â€Å"grotesque caricatures of Jewish faces† (498). Immediately, messages of inferiority and hatred spread throughout Germany. Even without words, such pictures had a profound effect. It influenced â€Å"average Germans to later indulge in th e outright liquidation of Jewish ‘vermin’† (501). Even though images were used negatively, it is clear that they have a deep effect on people’s perception and understanding. Words, however, cannot have the same effect. Because abstract words and emotions such as hate require â€Å"a deep understanding,† they â€Å"can be put into images but are difficult to put into words† (Stephens 480). Therefore, images remain dominant over words because a single picture can depict complex emotions that no word or group of words can accomplish.