They have been around since man has first inhabited the earth. Plato referred to them as magical imitations. The Old Testament warned followers of the faith of their evil nature and cursed anyone who produced them. Some spend hours in thought over their meanings, while others fear their very existence. No matter what you think, it is almost impossible to deny the power that images posses. From their use in advertising to their use in religion, images wield great power over human behavior and emotions. They can make us feel happy, sad, or angry. They can effect whole groups of people. Currently, the use of American Indian images in sports is being debated by many. Apparently native Americans have become very offended by them. So much, that they blame their use in sports as a reason for their oppression. It is evident that images are very powerful, but what about words? Images, alone, can only be so effective. It is when images and words are joined together that a new level of communication can be reached. A bond is formed which elevates both of these respective things to new heights. The movie advertisement for “The Blair Witch Project”,in “The Presence of Others” anthology is a perfect example of the power that is created when images and words are joined. Careful analysis of this picture along with the help of ideas expressed by authors Mitchell Stephens and Ward Churchill in their essays “By Means of the Visible” and Crimes Against Humanity” show the great power possessed by the union of images and words. “The Blair Witch Project” is a horror film made on a shoestring budget by a few no name producers. The film presents itself as a documentary made up entirely of footage shot by three missing student filmmakers who ventured into the woods of western Maryland in 1994 for the purpose of making a film about the legendary Blair Witch, and were never seen again. Though the ...
