Judge — July 25, 1925 — page 14: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This satirical cartoon mocks an American tourist named Betty visiting Paris, comparing American and French culture. The humor relies on several contrasts: **The Setup:** Betty attends a Parisian cabaret featuring scantily-clad dancers (the "side show"), shocking her American sensibilities. **The Jokes:** - American ticket scalpers are portrayed as more honest than French ones - "Bare necessities" is a double entendre—the dancers wear minimal clothing, yet the French consider this normal fashion - Betty finds the plot "thickens between the acts," suggesting the entertainment is less about coherent narrative and more about spectacle **The Satire:** This reflects 1920s American attitudes toward Paris as a morally permissive European city where scandalous entertainment and relaxed social standards shocked American tourists. The cartoon plays on contrasts between American prudishness and French liberalism, with Betty serving as the innocent American encountering "continental" sophistication—presented here as merely underdressed dancers and casual immorality.