Judge — December 11, 1926 — page 6: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Analysis This cartoon satirizes early 20th-century social customs and the Jazz Age. The scene depicts a formal gathering where two men discuss a potted plant. One character (Iowal) mentions an "old-fashioned custom" associated with the plant, while the other (Euterpe) jokes that "you're supposed to dance a Charleston under it." The humor targets the clash between Victorian propriety and modern 1920s behavior. The plant likely references mistletoe—traditionally associated with kissing at Christmas—representing old conventions. By substituting the Charleston (a then-scandalous dance) for kissing, the cartoon mocks how younger generations were abandoning Victorian customs for wilder modern entertainments. The formal dress contrasts with the suggestion of uninhibited dancing, amplifying the generational cultural divide Judge's audience would have recognized.