A Thousand Words

Whenever I see a documentary or short piece about some sort of personal human tragedy, I can usually tell where the story is going by the pictures they show.  It's like there's a secret code or unspoken standard behind the kind of photos they show based on the kind of story involved.  So, I bring you the results of my extensive research:

• If they show pictures of teenage kids at their Prom or Homecoming, the story will probably involve a drunk driving fatality.  
• However, if the Prom pictures are supplemented with pictures of the boyfriend lounging on a couch sullenly in ratty jeans and a ball cap, then the story probably involves a downward spiral into drug abuse.
• If they show pictures a young mother holding a baby, then she was either the victim of a fatal assault, or the husband killed her for the life insurance money.
• If they show pictures of a guy in his mid-thirties on a fishing trip with his friends, smiling confidently at the camera, then he probably had a long struggle with a fatal disease.
• If they show pictures of a child alone, looking a little too serious or sad and he's poking at the dirt with a stick or huddled up in a corner, then you're in for a bizarre and disturbing story of abduction or abuse.
• However, if the child is pictured in bed in his pajamas laughing, then he probably died young from a fatal disease. 
• If they show pictures of a man in the background of a picture full of smiling people and he's looking at the camera but not smiling at all, then there's probably a breakdown/murder/suicide involved.
• If they show a picture a couple and the woman is looking at the man instead of the camera and the guy is not quite smiling, then you're looking at a long history of abuse.
• However, if the couple has their faces pressed together and they're close-up to the lens of the camera and they both have big beaming smiles on their faces and especially if they're wearing life jackets at the time, then the couple most likely died in a freak accident while on vacation.

There it is.  Obviously, there's a process at work here similar to the re-occurring phrases and keywords that are often found in obituaries.  There are certain implicit emotional chords that are meant to be tapped into: "They had so much potential."; "He was so strong."; "What a lonely child.", and so on.  After all, they say a picture is worth a thousand words.    

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