Judge, 1928-01-21 · page 22 of 36
Judge — January 21, 1928 — page 22: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a diary-style humor column mocking a young "flapper" (1920s modern woman) through her week's social activities. The main satirical target is **Booth Tarkington's novel "Claire Ambler,"** which the diarist defends against the book's (and older generation's) dismissal of flappers as superficial. She argues modern young women actually read more and think more than their mothers, yet are unfairly stereotyped. The week's entries catalog typical flapper entertainment: New Year's parties, theater-going ("She's My Baby," "The Royal Family"), nightclubs, and circus parties. The humor derives from her breathless excitement over trivial social events and shallow cultural consumption, ironically *proving* the critics' point while she argues against it. The small cartoon below shows children fighting, with wordplay on "black eye"—the child cries not from receiving one but from *giving* one ineffectively. This is unrelated social humor typical of Judge's miscellaneous content. The page satirizes both flappers and their critics through performative contradiction.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
JUDGE Up early and over- flowing with girlish excitement over the big New Year's F party. Escort-to-be of the ¢ ning called up at noon and sug gested spending the afternoon spreading kindliness and the spirit of the New Year around the town, **** Stars indicate lapse of six hours. Home and to bed for a short nap so that I uld be the life of the big New "s Eve party. Awoke at 7 .m.! Happy New Year! Bah! mS Sunday—Read in the papers how many people killed from alcoholism during the holi- days. Also read “Claire Ambler,” Booth Tarkington. Suppose the critics “wonderful in- sight into year-old flapper’s ch * and if they did I disag h them! Mr. Tarkington gives the modern flapper credit for nothing but a sort of inherited fineness of char- acter and no brains at all. In other words, Mr. Tarkington, and all the rest of our mothers and fathers, pat themselves com- placently on the back because they gave us that beautiful fine- ness and pass the buck because they think we have nothing above the ears. And they think that because we like to go out and have a good time! Why, the modern flapper reads more, sees more of life and thinks more about it than any bridge-playing mother or golf-playing father in the country! And if you don’t THINK so, MR. Tarkington, you're crRAzy! => Monday—A circus Most overwhelming. thing. were party. The 4 host put all his furniture in stor- and had the floors covere verybody had r circus outfits, a food was served from tin } d they had honest-to-ood freaks, not including the guests. A fat lady that weighed _ five hundred pounds, and a human skeleton, and all the rest. And the pink lemonade. My Dear! ~ = Tuesday—The opening of “She's My Baby,” with my fa- vorite comedienne, Beatrice Lill Beatrice was marvelous, but the show pretty One or two good tunes. After wards to the “Heigh Ho” club and what a relief not to have entertainers. terrible. = Wednesda Royal Family” and the best show I've this season. Haidee Wright as the oldest Barrymore, “The — To see seen I mean wonderful. Cavendish, iy simply Her ending of the play gave me the greatest kick I've ever had in’ the theater. Home quickly and to bed, but couldn't sh Tried to read a book given me by the I. B. (this doesn't stand for Interna- tional Bar Fly but for Intellee- tual Boy Friend). “What About North Africa?” by Hamish Me- Laurin. After rex s all I n at about it? => The Six Best Steppers “You're What I need” (She's My Baby) “Lonely in a Crowd” (no show) “Back Where the Daisies Grow” (no show) “Cashinara” (I'm still not sure about this) Jo Especially in the Balkans Europe is comparatively so small, and there are so countries in it, if a sky wanted to write a sentence have to start it in one lang’ and finish it in another. many ¥ “Now, now! you a black eye.” “Boo-00. Be a good sport. Don't ery because he gave I ain't eryin’ "cause he gimme a black eye!—Boo-00 —I'm cryin’ ‘cause I give him a black eye, and y’ can’t see it, Boo-oo!” — comicbooks.com