Life — June 16, 1927 — page 1: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This is a cover for "Life Movie Number"—a special issue devoted to cinema. The illustration satirizes Hollywood's extravagance and moral concerns of the 1920s. The central figures appear to be glamorous film actors in revealing costumes, styled as "fallen angels" with wings—a visual pun on both heavenly and morally questionable imagery. A film camera on a tripod captures the scene, reinforcing the movie industry context. The small bird at bottom left and dove above likely reference purity or innocence, contrasting ironically with the scantily-clad figures. This reflects 1920s anxieties about Hollywood's perceived decadence and its influence on American morality during the Jazz Age. The satire mocks both the industry's glamorous excess and contemporary moral panic about cinema's corrupting effects.