Life — December 13, 1929 — page 2: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Analysis This page is primarily **advertising, not satire or political commentary**. It's a Stutz Motor Car Company advertisement for their "Safety Stutz" and "Blackhawk" automobile lines. The ad uses a rhetorical device—14 leading questions—to persuade readers that these cars embody modern engineering superiority. Questions address safety features (safety glass, bumpers, braking systems) and performance innovations (worm drive, valve-in-head engines, lubrication systems). The illustration shows a sleek 1920s automobile in profile alongside a profile of a man's head, visually linking the car's modern design to contemporary ideals of efficiency and progress. The tagline emphasizes exclusivity: "No other car maker could truthfully sign this advertisement," suggesting competitors cannot match these safety and performance claims.