Life, 1922-04-13 · page 15 of 34
Life — April 13, 1922 — page 15: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This satirical article critiques Americans' vague familiarity with Russian/Siberian culture. The author humorously challenges readers to name actual Siberian dramatists (mentioning "Boogoo" and "Blagowysentschensk" as absurd examples), suggesting Western audiences confuse these with famous European playwrights like Euripides or George M. Cohan. The illustration shows a woman asking a clerk about grand pianos, with the caption "Madam, you flatter me"—likely satirizing pretentious cultural aspirations or the incongruity of seeking luxury goods in remote regions. The page mocks American ignorance of actual Siberian drama while poking fun at those who adopt fashionable interest in exotic, unfamiliar cultures without genuine knowledge.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
nes. ra rN 6} yoo 7 OR ERP kn Bs * oem, BAY > “Ain’t nature wonderful!” Tendencies in Recent Siberian HEN an American thinks of re- cent Siberian drama, he thinks only of the work of Jeng, Jerbogotsch and Schisch, One may mention even to men who pretend to keep abreast of current literature such names as Boogoo or Blagowjesentschensk and be greeted only by a blank stare of incomprehen- sion. If anyone is inclined to doubt the truth of this somewhat sweeping state- ment, | ask him to prove the truth of it for himself; let him say to any amateur of the drama: “Boogoo!” Better still, say to him: “Blagowjesentschensk!” I am convinced that the result will be surprising. Why this amazing, nay, this egregious neglect of names that are as familiar in every Siberian home as “Euripides” or “George M. Cohan” in ours? Is it because of the astounding immorality of Boogoo? Or the Siberian gloom of Blagowjesentschensk, all of whose characters are afflicted with leprosy or Pernicious anemia? No, the answer, to my mind, lies deeper. It is of the utmost significance that none of the works of these masters has as yet been written down, even in the original Siberian dialects. To savor them to the full, one must spend a num- ber of years in Siberia, disguised as a muzhik, sitting about the native gub- bahs and listening to the natives as they sing, intone, chant, or occasionally whis- tle these dramas of passion and despair. Let me give briefly the plot of “The Corduroy Trappers” (No. 92 of the Revillon Series), considered by many the most powerful of the works of Boo- Drama goo. Katjuschka, a simple village girl, meets Ivan Flatface at a dance. She is attracted by his strange air of ab- (Continued on page 29) Lady: I want to see some grand pianos. Do you carry them? Clerk: Madam, you flatter me. comicbooks.com