Life, 1920-10-28 · page 10 of 46
Life — October 28, 1920 — page 10: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This 1920 cartoon satirizes public apathy toward major sporting events. The illustration shows a crowd gathered around a platform offering "FREE AIR" — a stark contrast to three significant concurrent events: yacht races, Olympic games, and the U.S. presidential election campaign. The satire suggests Americans are indifferent to these momentous contests, instead clustering around a trivial giveaway. The accompanying article criticizes the lack of enthusiasm for the sporting events and election, attributing this to growing public apathy or noting that the contests themselves lack their usual lustre and inspiration. The cartoon mocks American civic and sporting disengagement during the 1920 election year.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
SIGNS OF THE TIMES The Giraffe IVE a thought giraffe, Whose head is three yards and a haffe Away from the rest of him; Must be the pest of him— Takes him so darned long to laffe. to our friend, the Consider his unhappy lot: On days when he’s thirsty or hot, The fresh, cooling water Has boiled (as it ought t’) Before it has reached the right spot. AS anyone ever foreseen the neces- sity of establishing a League for the Prevention of the Sale of Men's Neck- wear to Feminine Shoppers during the holiday season? Well, well; now we can talk about politics intelligently to you ladies, can’t we? Sue: That remains to be seen. Apathy 1920 has produced three great sporting events—the yacht races for the America’s cup, the Olympic games and the campaign for the presi- dency of the United States. The first contest was greeted with no interest whatsoever, the second with less, and the third (up to this point) with somewhat less than that. All that was notable about the yacht races was the sportsmanship of Sir Thomas Lipton, all that was notable about the Olympic games was the fact that a number of highly at- tractive young American mermaids came out victorious, and all that is notable about the election is the ability of all can- didates to pour forth a maximum number of words with a minimum amount of meaning. And the average citizen has been unable to display much enthusiasm for any of the events. Is this due to the fact that the sport- loving public is growing a bit apathetic? Or is it just possible that the contests themselves have been a trifle more lack- lustre and uninspiring this year than usual? HE summer of Normal? HE amount of drunkenness in New York is now three times as large as it was during the period which imme- diately followed July 1st, 1919, when the dry law first went into effect. In fact, the average number of cases now is al- most as high as it was in the pre-Prohibi- tion days. Which goes to prove that the American people can rally even after the greatest upheavals, and waste no time in getting back to normal. A Cynicism HE two keys to success are luck and pluck: luck in finding someone to pluck. THE PIONEER SOCIETY OF MUD CREEK PASSES A RESOLUTION ENDORSING THE OLD-AGE PENSION comicbooks. |