Life, 1926-11-25 · page 11 of 44
Life — November 25, 1926 — page 11: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page satirizes radio broadcasting of a boxing match between "Battling Goliath" and "Young David." The setup is humorous: radio announcers dramatically hype a fight while admitting the actual crowd is tiny—only "a handful of people." The satire targets **radio's power to create artificial excitement**. By broadcasting to a wide audience, radio transforms what would be an obscure, poorly-attended local boxing event into a major entertainment spectacle. The announcers inflate the importance of a sparse gathering into something supposedly momentous. The cartoon also gently mocks **radio's novelty** in this era (likely 1920s-30s), showing how the medium could fabricate drama and grandeur through sheer descriptive hype, regardless of actual events.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Life 9 Robinson Crusoe (after seventeen years): YES, I'VE GOT TO HAVE MY B BATTERIES RENEWED. What the Old Folks Missed ADIO VOIC .adies and gentlemen of the radio audience, to-night through the courtesy of the Manna Breakfast Food Co. we are broadcasting the main bout at the Babylon Hanging Garden—by many prophets considered the Bout of the Era. The stations linked up in this great event are WAIL Jerusalem, WTIN Canaan, WAL MY Babylon, NONO ch, WSN Gomorrah, and WWUS Tyre. The next voice will be the voice of our announcer, Ben Yochid, at the ringside. eN Yocutp: Your announcer is Ben Yochid of the Tablet, ready to give you a report of the fight straight from the Garden. I wish you could be here with me and see the enormous crowd. What a colorful crowd!! What a turnout! Only high up among the are there any empty spaces. While we're waiting for the principals to come on, let me tell you something about this great scrap. After a lapse of three years Battling Goliath is again defending his title. His opponent is Young David, the pride of the East Side. Because of his youth—David is still in the seventies, while Goly is well past the century mark—and because of his literary leanings, Young David is undoubtedly the popular favorite. But the major and minor prophets of fistiana, Jeremiah, Isaiah, Micah and the others in the know, look for Goliath to win without any difficulty inside four, rounds via the knockout route. Goliath is a six-to-one fa- vorite in the betting, and there are few takers. (Noise of shouting.) us. Young David has just jumped Jericho, T: First Safe-Lifter: Look at TUAT, JUST A HL AN’ 1 CAN REMEMBER WHEN W could see the crowd up on their feet and yelling their heads off. I'll see whether I can get David to talk to you. Oh, Dave! Say, Nehemiah, call Davy, will ye? Oh, David, say something to the radio audience, will Davin’s Voice: Hello, folks: I’m gonna bring home the bacon! I'm gonna sock the big stiff so hard he'll Ben Yociup: You just heard Young David say he was coming home with the has got his sense of humor [ff I with him. Ha, ha, ha! i tling Goliath just stepped } into the ring. T'll let you listen to the offi- cial announcer. think some one threw the Pyramids at him. bacon. The kid certainly i (Noise of shouting.) Bat- The crowd gave him a big hand. Now ff Smact, Surin In this corner the champeen. .. Battling Goliath...t hree hundred an’ thutty pound. In this corner...Y oun g David, ..wunna hundred an’ ten pound....Ten rounds for the...champceenship. .. of the woild. Ben Yocitp: The pho- tographers have left the ring. They're all set. (Gong sounds.) The great scrap’s on! Young David comes dancing out of his corner to meet Goly. He j lightly to Goly’s left and crosses with a left uppercut to Goly’s right kneecap! Goly is standing flatfooted! Davy lets loose one! two! three! hard jabs to Goly’s calf without a re- turn. It’s easy to see it isn’t the old Goly, the Goly of Sodom when he flattened the big Hittite in one round. (Continued on page 37) SANA RACE HEE NG}: AWS SS ana daw SS A ANNI E WATCHING 'D DRAW A CROWD 0” HUNDREDS WITH ONE SAFE. into the ring! What an ovation the crowd is giving him! I wish you Second Safe-Lifter: yes, sin! THE RADIO'S CERTAIN BUSINESS. y RUINED THE sow comicbooks.com