“Words – so innocent and powerless as they are, as standing in a dictionary, how potent for good and evil they become in the hands of one who knows how to combine them.” –Nathaniel Hawthorne
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Here at the Kill Zone Blog, we’re all about words. Combining those innocent words into sentences, paragraphs, and finally stories is the thing that drives us.
We’ve also heard it said, “A picture is worth a thousand words.” But is it?
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The movie Words and Pictures was released in 2013, but I saw it for the first time a year or so ago. The movie features a “war” between its two protagonists, both teachers at an elite New England prep school.
Jack Marcus (Clive Owen) teaches Honors English. He is brash and sarcastic and annoys his colleagues by trying to lure them into word games which he is sure to win. But Mr. Mark, as his students call him, is thoroughly in love with the English language, and the best scenes in the movie take place in his classroom where he challenges, inspires, and even berates his students, all in an attempt to engage their social media-deadened brains to appreciate the power of language. In one scene, he even gives them an assignment to invent a new word to add to the English language. The results are fun and appealing.
Actress Juliette Binoche has a harder task holding her own as the Honors Art teacher, Dina Delsanto, an educator who is less charismatic than the feisty Marcus. Delsanto suffers from rheumatoid arthritis which has robbed her of her independence and some of her ability to create. As a new addition to the faculty, she is immediately put into conflict with Marcus.
Of course, these two characters have to become involved with each other, and their verbal sparring sets in motion a “war” of words versus pictures that culminates in a school assembly where students will evaluate the power of each of the creative methods.
As the movie’s primary complication, Jack Marcus is an alcoholic. Although he’s managed to hide his problem from the school administrators, he fears “the fire has gone out.” When his sloppy behavior at a local restaurant and his lack of creative output threaten his position at the school, he’s forced to take extreme steps to keep his job. One of the best lines in the movie is uttered by Marcus when the headmaster bemoans his lack of output.
Headmaster: “You were a published author.”
Marcus: “I’m still a published author. It doesn’t go away like the mumps.”
There are minor characters and subplots that swirl around the main story, but the essence of the film is the comparison of the value of words vs. pictures. I know which I would vote for.
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Incidentally, I was doing a little reading about how words and pictures affect brain function when I came across an article at thinkonyourfeet.com. The article states that right-brained people are more likely to think in images whereas those of us who are left-brained are more likely to think in words. One of the conclusions in the article is that writing demands a whole-brain approach. I like that.
So TKZers: Which is more powerful: Words or Pictures? Do you think in words or in pictures? Have you seen the movie Words and Pictures? What’s your opinion? What movie about writing and / or authors would you recommend?
I think in words, but I just got back from a photography field trip (more about that on Wednesday) and I wonder if the popularity of what I still call “comic books” is because it appeals to those who think in pictures.
I hadn’t thought about comic books when I wrote this, Terry. I certainly read my share of them when I was a kid. They’re the perfect solution of words and pictures working together.
A photography field trip sounds like fun. I’m looking forward to your post on Wednesday.
Interesting thought question, Kay. I think in cinematic terms when I’m outlining my story. Then I “see” the scenes as I write them. Sometimes I “rehearse” the scene before I write it, letting the characters “improvise.”
When I do a light edit the next day, I think in terms of words and style. Which to me, brings up the notion of sound. I want my sentences to have a certain sound, and of course that applies especially to dialogue.
I don’t know what that says about my brain, but then again, my brain often doesn’t know what to say about me.
I think you’ve conquered the “whole brain” approach, Jim.
You make a great point about sound. I hadn’t even considered that as a part of the equation, but the cadence of the words adds to the reader’s experience. A symphony without instruments – I “see” a future post forming itself in my brain.
…but then again, my brain often doesn’t know what to say about me.
Yup! 🙂
I went to work at a radio station and was asked to write at least one page, by hand, about my background and where I wanted to be in five years. (I wrote two pages, of course.) The station owner came to me a couple of weeks later and said she did that with all her new employees so that she could have their handwriting analyzed. This way, she could match personalities and strengths with positions. Apparently the analyst told her about me, that he’d never had anyone so evenly balanced between right and left brain. So that may explain why I see and hear the stories in my mind like they’re happening in front of me. I wonder if there’s another part of the brain that compels one to sit and write the stories from start to finish. I think I’m missing that part. 😉
That’s fascinating, Becky. Handwriting analysis to determine brain function! Those of us who took part in the TKZ Handwriting Experiment should have our handwriting analyzed. 🙂
Your balanced brain should be perfect for writing stories. The discipline / endurance part must be located somewhere else.
Have a great writing week.
Interesting question, Kay. I use words to paint a picture for readers but I don’t see the story unfolding like a movie. I concentrate on choosing exactly the right verb or noun to convey the picture to the reader.
Terry makes a great point about graphic novels appealing to visual readers.
Good morning, Debbie.
Words can paint such a rich and detailed picture. I can take a photo of the clock on my wall, but I can’t take a picture of the concept of time.
Choosing exactly the right word is such fun, especially in the English language where we have hundreds of thousands of words to choose from. There’s nothing quite like finding the right word. Bingo!
Have a great week.
Great post, Kay, and wonderful questions.
I think in pictures, especially when I’m writing fiction. I see the scene, work at creating the picture for the reader, and constantly try to improve that process.
I’ve not seen the movie, Words and Pictures, but it sounds very interesting. I’ll look for it. A movie about writing/authors/books that I enjoyed is The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. One theme in the story is the idea that books can bring us together, even in (or especially in) difficult times.
Have a wonderful week.
Good morning, Steve.
You and I have a similar process. I see the scenes as I write, although they aren’t in HD. Still, they move me through the story.
Thanks for the suggestion about the Guernsey movie. There need to be more movies about writing and authors, eh?
You also have a wonderful week.
Interesting question. I don’t see ‘movies in my head’ as some do when they formulate stories. Neither is it strictly via words, though I lean much more heavily in that direction. I’m somewhere in the murky middle (what else is new?) 😎
I find words much more impactful than pictures. No doubt all of us remember images we saw in the news when 9/11 occurred–but when we think of those billowing smoke images, we also remember all the horrid verbal details we were receiving, & stats being displayed on the screen about what those images truly meant.
Maybe we need to turn that old saying on its ear. Not “a picture is worth a thousand words” but “a picture needs a thousand words” (give or take). Thankfully, we live in a world where it doesn’t have to be either/or & they complement each other.
I think of my favorite novel by Zane Grey. If, instead of the novel, I had just been shown a picture of that area of Northern California, or a few characters, it would not have had nearly the impact that reading the book did. An image never could have told the story. Or think of the famous still images we’ve seen that were used to promote “Gone With the Wind.” The images don’t do justice to the actual words of the story.
Far more memorable for me are writers who weave images with their words, rather than actual images themselves (though I love visual art & dabble in as opportunity affords every once in a great, great while).
Good morning, BK.
“I’m somewhere in the murky middle.” Great place to be. I suspect that means you’re using both sides of you brain.
I agree that pictures usually need words to turn them into three-dimensional stories.
Have a great week.
I can’t write a chapter until I see it unfold in my mind. Like JSB (but not as well), I see it in words when I edit.
And I would hate for a handwriting analyst to get hold of something I wrote by hand!
Great post!
Thanks, Patricia.
“I would hate for a handwriting analyst to get hold of something I wrote by hand!” I know what you mean. Of course, it might just make their day.
Have a good week.
“Which is more powerful: Words or Pictures?
There’s a reason movies exist. As a sometime screenwriter, I lean towards pictures. Often, rather than use dialog to show a pivotal moment, an image or a brief gesture can suffice and, with it, display character. If I utter, “High Noon,” what comes to mind? The words, “High Noon,” in Courier or Comic Sans? Papyrus? Probably not! You see Gary Cooper, alone on the main street of Hadleyville.
Do you think in words or in pictures?
Consciously, words, but my Guardienne, my creative center, may work largely in images. She’s in the so-called “Unconscious,” (or is its totality) so I would never know, but she IS the source of dreams, which are 99.9% imagery, so there’s that. (I can only remember one dream that had a sound track, voice over and music. Never had a dream with text, IIRR.)
Have you seen the movie Words and Pictures? What’s your opinion? Nope. Must do.
What movie about writing and / or authors would you recommend?”
Adaptation. Sunset Blvd. Spotlight. The Player.
A “side-note”:
“…Magnetic resonance imaging of 1,000 people revealed that the human brain doesn’t actually favor one side over the other. The networks on one side aren’t generally stronger than the networks on the other side.”
https://www.healthline.com/health/left-brain-vs-right-brain#left-brain-vs-right-brain-myth
Thanks for the movie recommendations, J. You’ve given me a couple of new ones to add to my TBW stack.
I liked the article at healtline.com. Good reading for keeping the brain in shape.
Words can create more powerful images in the brain than a picture can create words in the brain. Words for the win.
“Words for the win.” Well put. Thanks, Marilynn.
I write down the movie I see in my head.
I can translate written page into movie.
For me it’s harder going the other way.
Thanks, Cynthia. Most of us seem to “see” the story and write it down. Interesting.
Fascinating post, Kay. I have not seen “Words and Pictures.” I’ll have to put it on my to-watch list. I lean more towards words than pictures, but will take the time when writing to visualize crucial scenes. As I write, a kind of sensory-emotion movie unfolds in my head. I don’t often see scenes as though they were shot in 4K, but rather as fleeting images, sensory impressions, and feelings, sometimes lots of feelings.
Similar to how I “visualize” what I read.
Thanks for another post that gets the week off to a great, thoughtful start!
Good morning, Dale.
I originally intended this post to just be a review of the movie. But as I wrote, I got interested in how each of us processes thought, especially as we write. The comments have been very interesting.
Have a good writing week!
I think in words, Kay, and I love puns and wordplay. But when I write, I can see each scene in my head, as if I’m putting together a movie.
We must be related, Elaine. My husband and I have such fun with words. We love word games, crossword puzzles, and puns. (He’s especially enamored with that form of humor. I’ve become an expert at laughing and groaning at the same time. 🙂 )
Visualizing the story as we write seems to be the way most of us work.
My husband wouldn’t recognize a word if it walked up and smacked him across the face. 🙂
We speak a different language . . . I love words, lots and lots of them. He thinks in flow charts and circuit boards.
But it works.
Whatever works!
Thought provoking post, Kay. So much so that I had to think about it for a bit which explains the late-day reply. I write fiction “as the camera sees it”. (Plug to my friend and screen venture colleague, Susanne Lakin of Live, Write, Thrive, who wrote an instructional book on this subject.)
My fiction process is creating a visual story board which is nothing more than scene highlights jotted on sticky notes stuck on a poster board. Once I have the story visualized, then I turn it into whatever words are necessary to portray the picture. I also use a hand-drafted scene timeline to keep track of current lineal flow and backstory injections.
Non fiction is entirely word driven, though. Enjoy your evening!
Good evening, Garry, and thanks for commenting.
Sounds like you have a sophisticated way to keep track of everything. It’s so interesting that you mentioned sticky notes. I stick post-it notes on a three-door closet in my office.
I can see that non-fiction would be an different process. I haven’t gone down that road. Yet.
Have a good evening.