Life — August 30, 1917 — page 33: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page satirizes early 20th-century social behaviors and attitudes labeled "millennial" (here meaning young people of that era, not modern millennials). The sketches mock various types: a banker indulging an overdrawn account; a man boasting of his 1868 exploits; a woman offering casual kisses to strangers; a police officer inviting a brutality victim to retaliate; a wife announcing her suffrage organization disbanded so she can stay home; and couples viewing an art exhibition. The humor targets perceived hypocrisy and moral looseness—young people claiming modernity while pursuing frivolous, undignified, or socially questionable behavior. The suffrage reference suggests contemporary debate about women's roles. Overall, the cartoon presents "millennial" youth as shallow, morally suspect, and ultimately unserious about social progress.