Life, 1919-05-08 · page 14 of 46
Life — May 8, 1919 — page 14: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This satirical cartoon depicts a nightmarish vision of communist revolution spreading across America. The composition shows a hellish landscape filled with chaotic crowds, angels fleeing upward, and signs expressing various social anxieties: "Anti-Semitism," "Cut down the Gyms and Jazz," "Vote for Prohibition," "Striking Harp Players," "Up with the Saints—Down with the Sinners," and "We Refuse to Wear Nalos [sic]." The cartoon reflects 1920s Red Scare fears, presenting Bolshevism as a threat that would destroy American values, religious morality, entertainment, and social order. The message warns that communist ideology would replace traditional culture with authoritarian chaos and moral decay—a common anti-communist propaganda trope of the post-WWI era.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
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