Life — February 16, 1928 — page 9: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Analysis of Life Magazine Page 7 This page satirizes the "Great American Gag"—a long-running vaudeville comedy routine that had persisted for years. The opening cartoon mocks its ubiquity across entertainment media: vaudeville, movies, comic magazines, and even advertisements (Campbell's Soup, Saturday Evening Post ads). The illustrations show classic vaudeville physical comedy: performers in exaggerated poses—upside-down acrobats, contorted positions. The satire's point: this ancient gag format, though "crude, vulgar and foolish," remains pervasive as "Low Humor," yet Life argues "any humor that isn't low isn't humor." The "Sport Model" poem by Corinne Rockwell Swain appears below, addressing outdated Valentine's Day sentiment—a separate satirical piece mocking romantic clichés.