Life — May 10, 1929 — page 10: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Political Cartoon Analysis This futuristic science-fiction cartoon depicts two figures on Mars discussing tourism. One says: "Yea, I'm agoin' to move over onto Saturn. Mars ain't what it used to be since these American tourists began to come." **The Satire:** The joke satirizes American tourism culture by suggesting that even fictional alien planets have become overrun with American visitors, who apparently degrade the quality of wherever they go. The speaker, appearing to be a Martian resident, laments that Mars has lost its original character due to American tourist invasion—implying that American travelers were seen as loud, disruptive, or culturally insensitive enough to ruin even an imaginary destination. This reflects early-20th-century anxieties about American tourists abroad and their reputation for vulgarity or cultural obliviousness.