Life — December 11, 1913 — page 24: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This is a satirical cartoon showing what various audience members think about after watching a musical comedy. The page depicts different mental states labeled as various aspects of "Life": Music, Comedy, Love, Wit, Beauty, Patriotism, The Universe, and a Tired Business Man. The central joke is that a simple musical comedy entertainment produces wildly disproportionate reactions—from profound philosophical contemplation (The Universe depicted as tangled chaos) to patriotic fervor (a figure with American flag) to romantic daydreaming. The "Tired Business Man" at bottom appears exhausted rather than entertained, suggesting the satire critiques both the frivolous nature of musical comedies and audiences' tendency to read deep meaning into light entertainment, or alternatively, their exhaustion from such spectacles.