The Unmade Bed - Is a Picture Really Worth a Thousand Words?

by Nancy Sackheim

A picture is worth a thousand words. i.e., a simple picture can convey meaning more effectively than the written word.  It's an adage we've all heard.  Napoleon Bonaparte may have coined the phrase.  Or it might have begun as a Chinese proverb.  Then again, some say the phrase was first used in 1911 at a banquet put on by the Syracuse Advertising Men's Club. 

An opposite viewpoint is held by German filmmaker, playwright, author, and photographer. Wim Wenders, who said, “Whoever came up first with that saying ’a picture is worth a thousand words’ didn’t understand the first thing about either one.” 

A picture may well inspire a thousand words or ten thousand words, but as for conveying meaning, one could ask what meaning do you mean?  Take this picture of the unmade bed. 

Photo by Paula Campos on Unsplash

Was someone late for work?  Did the little ones join their parents for a tickle war before  weekend pancakes? Was an illicit afternoon romp interrupted?  Is this the scene of a kidnapping? Is it laundry day?  What story do you see? Write it!