Life — February 23, 1922 — page 8: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" — Airy Fairytales This page presents a modern, satirical retelling of the classic fairy tale. The illustration shows Goldilocks as a fashionable young woman in 1920s dress, lounging in what appears to be an urban park setting with three well-dressed bears. The satire updates the innocent children's story into Jazz Age humor: Goldilocks samples the bears' cocktails with "scientific rotation," stays up late at the Ritz nightclub, dances with the bears, and leaves via taxi—suggesting scandalous behavior and loose morals typical of "flapper" culture. The bears' resigned observations ("always trying to find something spicy in everything") mock both the rebellious younger generation and their own bourgeois concerns. The bottom dialogue between a sailor and girl provides additional period commentary on changing social conventions.