Life — April 26, 1929 — page 23: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This is a single satirical cartoon occupying the full page. The title "Suggestion to the Revivalists" mocks religious revival meetings—popular evangelical events of the era where preachers sought mass spiritual conversions. The cartoon depicts a chaotic scene across multiple levels showing various sinful or frivolous activities: gambling, drinking, dancing, boxing, train wrecks, and general debauchery. The satire suggests that rather than conducting individual conversions one at a time, revivalists should simply attempt to "revive the whole darned lot at once"—convert all these sinners simultaneously. The joke criticizes both the ambitious scope of revival movements and the pervasive moral problems in society. It's darkly humorous commentary on whether mass salvation is even feasible given the extent of contemporary vice and chaos depicted throughout the crowded composition.