Life — September 29, 1927 — page 7: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Analysis This is a satirical page from *Life* magazine featuring college-themed humor. The top cartoon mocks an optometrist's convenient scheduling advice to a college student needing an eye exam—the doctor conveniently suggests the student return during college break, allowing the doctor to avoid examining him during the busy season. The middle section humorously describes outdated college degree requirements (Latin, Greek, trigonometry, chemistry) as if they're still rigorous necessities, while noting they've actually been discontinued. The bottom cartoon jokes about Ford automobiles' ubiquity. Two freshmen discuss one student's "good line of wisecracks," while another owns "every Ford in town"—satirizing the Model T's dominance in American culture during the 1920s-early 1930s, when Ford vehicles were extraordinarily common and affordable. The satire targets educational traditions, professional inconvenience, and consumer culture.