A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

Supposedly, 99% of Americans are literate, which is defined by the CIA (yes, that CIA) as “being able to read and write by age 15.” I think this is a little optimistic. In fact, using the CIA’s definition, I think that 90% of Americans are illiterate… a statistic that I feel is shockingly accurate and completely made up for the purpose of this column.

The adage is that a picture is worth a thousand words and it’s one that I wholly agree with. I love photography and I have some really, really talented friends who “shoot.” Pictures are nice and I enjoy the way people use them to express themselves. I respect the art. That being said, the same goes for music performers. Respect. Yet, sometimes, rather than look at a picture… I’d like to have the thousand words that are intentionally being omitted. Tell me what it was like to be there… in that moment.

The problem is—in a world marred with latency and laziness—it’s incredibly easy to take out your cell phone and snap a picture. It satisfies immediacy and impatience. It cheapens the art. You can upload it straight to your Facebook page with the caption: “OMG this iz awsum iz soooo wondrfull!” That picture can explain everything from where you are, to what you’re doing, and compensate for the fact that you’re a moron and cannot spell, let alone exercise the slightest control over grammar. A photograph can convey something in a way that most people cannot… and our reliance on such is compensatory—a counterbalance for stupidity and indolence. There isn’t a snapshot for words, don’t tell me that the same thing is conveyed in that codified middle school text message shorthand garbage, and I am thankful for that everyday… as it allows me to suss out the idiots. But what about those of us who can articulate a beautiful moment through words? Should we just sit idly by, without audience, and let the world become described in photographs? Effectively, we’re regressing to the picture flash cards we used to learn from. As photography is being cheapened, is the art of articulation dying… if not already dead?

There is absolutely nothing wrong with using something besides spoken or written word to communicate how you feel. Often times, what you want to say has already been said and rather than run the risk of redundancy or being uncreative, we find a different way to express ourselves. But when it becomes the chief mode of communication, the world becomes a far worse place. I don’t want to decode a set of lyrics or a photograph to know how you feel… just tell me. My Cracker Jack box didn’t have the decoder ring, I got one of those silly ass holographic cards… and I threw it away with the mangled box it came in. The average American can’t spell or construct a discernible sentence… and I feel bad because every time I want to call someone a hemorrhoid (via text), I have to look up how to spell it in an actual dictionary because no word processing or autocorrection software seems to understand my intended insult.

I don’t know about you… but I think it’s time to rise up and put a sharpened #2 in the hands of our youth. If we’re going to regress, let’s go back to the pen and paper or, better yet, the chisel and stone. Maybe that way people will think before they write.

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[If a picture is worth a thousands words… how many words are in a .gif?]