Worth a Thousand Words

"...there was a cry for pictures. Locke's graphic descriptions did not satisfy all the readers."

Robert Locke's Moon Hoax had many people convinced that there was a variety of lifeforms on the moon. He offered no real proof, but gave very detailed descriptions of the creatures. But, even in the time before photographs, people still needed to see an illustration of some kind.

The same thing still occurs. Judgment is often withheld from subjects until there is a proof that words alone never seem to fill. When it was announced that Heath Ledger would be the Joker in The Dark Knight, many were unsure. When the first picture was finally unveiled, the response was enormously in favor of the actor. If the producers had held images back, there would likely have been discontent among fans until the movie actually came out. Similar things have occured with movies such as Cloverfield, the upcoming The Incredible Hulk, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.