Life, 1918-10-17 · page 7 of 38
Life — October 17, 1918 — page 7: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page satirizes American attitudes toward World War I, specifically criticizing indifference to war atrocities. The decorative header "LIFE" shows figures on a seesaw, suggesting frivolity and imbalance. The poem "From the Fields of France" (attributed to Charlotte Becker) contrasts noble ideals—soldiers gaining wisdom, brotherhood, sacrifice—with the reality below: a sketch titled "AT THE MOVIES" challenges viewers to identify a gentleman enjoying a film depicting "the bombing of the Red Cross Hospital." The satire's point: Americans comfortably consuming entertainment about war crimes while soldiers suffer. It criticizes moral detachment and suggests that enjoying such spectacles reveals character flaws—a damning commentary on American complacency regarding combat and humanitarian violations occurring abroad.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
a - na Dea Nate Veta Dnira Mehra € { ¢ } { & i } é { € § € é ‘ 4 ¢ ‘ ¢ © § é é From the Fields of France THESE are the things our lads shall bring from France: A miracle has touched our humdrum days A clearer sight; a knowledge strange and new With holiness; a flame that naught may quench Of human souls revealed to common view; A spirit wakened by deliverance From motives small and mean; a wider chance For those once held repressed and hampered through Outworn conditions; and fair dreams come true For high hearts tried and proved by circumstance. Has quickened eager youth with strength that would Spend endlessly in sacrificial ways ; And there shall rise from battlefield and trench A new race bred of love and brotherhood. Charlotte Becker. AT THE MOVIES FIND THE GENTLEMAN WHO IS ENJOYING THE PICTURE OF THE BOMBING OF THE RED CROSS HOSPITAL, comicbooks.com