Life, 1923-10-18 · page 10 of 44
Life — October 18, 1923 — page 10: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This satirical illustration depicts a crowded social gathering, likely at an upscale venue or salon. The caption presents a humorous dialogue between "Molly" and "Peggy" about an unnamed man in the center of the group, described as "the most interesting person" who can "bark like a dog and wiggle his ears." The accompanying text discusses why football has become so popular—citing broken bones, mended legs, public demand for tickets, and the sport's brutal reputation. The satire appears to mock how the fashionable intellectual crowd finds entertainment value in crude or primitive behavior, conflating this with genuine sophistication. The cartoon critiques how society's "intellectuals" celebrate trivial or base amusements as profound cultural moments.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
THE INTELLECTUALS Molly: wHo IS THAT MAN IN THE CENTRE OF THE GROUP? Peggy: OH, YOU MUST MEET HIM! HE’S THE MOST INTERESTING PERSON. HE CAN BARK LIKE A DOG AND WIGGLE HIS EARS. BECAUSE football teams are fearing each other in the morning newspapers and calmly awaiting the whistle in the afternoon editions; because the doctors have miraculously mended brcken legs and collar bones of stars who were announced yesterday as out of the game for a month; because the coaches have discovered the most wonderful kickers who ever booted a ball over the goal posts of a sporting page; because of the public demand for tickets, and because of the long line af people who think football is brutal and who would not walk across the street to see a game,—because of these things there is absolutely no way of obtaining a couple of good seats for your Alma Mater’s crucial test except by walking up to the box office and laying down the money. ee | | t 3 comicbooks.com