Life, 1919-10-09 · page 17 of 48
Life — October 9, 1919 — page 17: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page satirizes the standardization and corporatization of American life. The top cartoon depicts a movie theater scene where standardized content is being consumed by a passive audience—illustrating how mass media homogenizes culture. The lower cartoon mocks corporate dishonesty: two business promoters discuss an oil property report, with one suggesting they hire a "fiction-writer to correct it"—meaning they'll fabricate data to make a poor investment seem profitable. This exposes how corporations manipulate statistics and deceive the public. The accompanying article warns that Americans are being "chopped up" and standardized "at boiler-plate rates"—reducing individuals to commodities. The closing anecdote about hiring a disreputable army discharge applicant reinforces the theme of ethical compromise in business and institutional corruption during this era.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
vl incor IE two on ca are poration Our morals, habits, private lives cading matter are rding to a forn around Salem some The American peop me individual, and will be ¢ by their standardizers and i rators at boiler-plate rates and shipped o. b. to any part of the planet as a warning or an exhibit IW a0. «S forea 577 : | DITOR OF 1. W. W. PAPER First Promoter: WAVE YOU READ THE REPORT ON THAT NEW OIL PROPERTY OUR . STATISTICIAN HANDED IN TO-DAY? Second Promoter: yes, 1T WILL. BE ALL RIGHT WHEN WE GET A GOOD FICTION- , . WRITER TO CORRECT IT. charged from the U. S. army comicbooks.com