Life — May 5, 1927 — page 11: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Analysis of Life Magazine Page 9 This page satirizes American soldiers' post-WWI employment struggles. The top sketch depicts a domestic scene where a father asks a son about his job after graduation—a common parental question. The dialogue reveals the son works in a laundry doing menial tasks, prompting the father's disappointment. The main comic "Whattee Plice Glory?" features Chinese and Cantonese soldiers discussing the war's worthlessness. They mock the conflict as pointless, noting they're doing laundry work instead of soldiering—mirroring the American soldiers' plight above. The cartoon criticizes how returning soldiers faced unemployment and underemployment despite their service. The Cantonese setting allows satirists to universalize the post-war disillusionment affecting soldiers globally, suggesting military glory yields only menial labor.