Life, 1927-10-13 · page 27 of 44
Life — October 13, 1927 — page 27: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page satirizes the overwhelming news coverage of the late 1920s. The cartoon shows a newspaper art department head suffering mental breakdown while trying to create maps that simultaneously track multiple major events: Charles Lindbergh's transatlantic flight, devastating Mississippi River floods, Chinese civil war movements (Chiang Kai-shek, Eugene Chen), and various diplomatic activities. The joke is that contemporary events are so numerous and geographically scattered that creating a single coherent map becomes impossible—he's ironically conflating unrelated events (the flood reaching Hawaii, planes parked near armies). By the cartoonist's count, he's made 84 maps in one spring. The satire mocks both the news cycle's relentless demand for fresh content and the public's consumption of sensationalized coverage, ultimately driving the mapmaker to complete exhaustion and delirium. It's commentary on modern information overload.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Life The Map Man’s Finish “YES, sir, this is the eighty- fourth map I've made. since last spring, when Chiang Kai-shek hopped off from Ver-sur-mer and flew to Shanghai,” said the head of the newspaper art department, bend- over his He His manner was drawing-board. rumpled his hair. ing not quite nort “It's queer,” he babbled, “but I A STREET FIGHT IN VENICE. can’t make this map to suit me. Maybe I'm tired of making maps This dotted line with the arrow pointing south is the progress of the flood far Natehe: The Mississippi was del. there, waiting for fave in the North Atlantic. fog cleared, Lindbergh was over the Sugar Bowl, at an altitude of 4,000 feet, and the Northern Army, under Chiang Tso-lin, was retreat ing toward Mukden, with favorable winds and all four motors working What is the latest bulletin from Brock and Schlee? Is the water the levee at as as over Vicksburg? The shaded area is rain off Newfoundland. The members of the art staff were shocked into silence by the strange patter of their chief. “Ah, now I've got it,” he cried. “This dotted line I'm drawing here is Lindbergh's route across Ireland and this solid line is the course of the flood from St. Louis to Hawaii, the longest non-stop flood on record. Flood flew all the way from Hono lulu to ris on one chicken sand- wich. Couldn't find thermos bottle That ci is the inundated lowland where Hoover and Levine parked their plane forty miles from Peking, with the Southern Army, under Eugene Chen, in hot pursuit. Dot- ted line with arrow pointing west shows course of Ambassador Herrick from Le Bourget to Roosevelt Field How's Herrick go- Pont- in freezing fog. ing to welcome flood at Lake chartrain without dotted line and rubber lifeboat? This is my eighty-fourth map and I ght to know, I guess.” The artist swayed in his chair and toppled sideways. Kind hands held him. “Pen delayed by fe Ink’ getting low took him home, a sympa- friend on either side of him. Tell driver to follow dotted line to Labrador, then fly due east,” he muttered. “Look out for shaded area. Break there in levee, 10,000 feet up.” AH, F. Who Wins? IG BUSINESS MAN: Can't you read? The sign on that door means Private. Boox Acen I know—and I'm glad it's there. If there's anything I hate, it’s being interrupted’ when I'm talking to a prospect easoer Of my course. At HAS IT EVER OCCURRED TO AUTOMOBILE MANUFACTURERS TO LET BACK-SEAT DRIVERS DO THE WoRK? Sybil: oCLOcK IT Was WHEN EXACTLY TWELVE JERRY KISSED ME Goop NiGuT. Mother (patiently): WHAT TIME DID LEAVE? How to Get On in the Movies DLAN your studies to include the greatest number of helpful sub- jects. Begin with elementary the- atricals, Take up physical culture rhythmic Study and emotional Spend plenty of time on and gymnastics acting, voice control ies. fencing, riding Have Try 1 wsthetic dancing. Have } you must have emotional experience. Study and irtistie enervation. To appreciate the problems of the business depart- 1 little to do with your future, take up accounting, mob psychology Study Tn : say “yes” in German, Swedish and FE: . And now last step which will make you a success in the movies: go into the clothing business. P.G an affair another, osculation ment which will have finance, and adver- tising. Learn to comes. the comicbooks.com