Judge — August 21, 1920 — page 8: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "The State Dentists' Association Meets at Yapp's Crossing" This cartoon satirizes a rural small-town gathering of dentists, shown as a chaotic, crowded country fair or street festival. The humor stems from the contrast between the profession's dignity and the undignified, rustic setting. The labeled storefronts identify local businesses—garages, beauty parlors, grocery stores, a pool room—typical of an early 20th-century rural crossroads community. Among the crowd are numerous figures engaged in undignified activities: people fighting, running, falling, and behaving rowdily, with dogs and children adding to the mayhem. The satire mocks both the pretensions of professional associations holding formal meetings and the stereotype of rural communities as lacking refinement. The "State Dentists' Association" meeting devolves into an unseemly carnival, suggesting that formal professional gatherings in remote locations descend into chaos, or that rural Americans, regardless of profession, behave crudely. The artist, Johnny Gruelle, uses exaggerated caricature and slapstick to comic effect.