Judge — September 8, 1917 — page 3: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Analysis This is a political cartoon from *Judge* magazine featuring an optical illusion titled "A Motion Picture." The image shows a vintage automobile balanced on a figure's hand/arm. The wheels are rendered as concentric circles designed to create the illusion of motion when the page is rotated counterclockwise (as instructed in the caption). The satirical point targets "autocracy" — the caption explicitly states "Patriotic Americans who wish to see the downfall of autocracy will give this picture a circular twisting motion toward the left." This appears to be anti-autocratic propaganda, likely from the World War I era when American sentiment turned against authoritarian regimes. The spinning wheels symbolize the overthrow or destabilization of autocratic government, framed as patriotic action.