Life — December 27, 1929 — page 11: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Analysis of Life Magazine Page 9: "Scott Shots" This page contains humorous short observations by W. W. Scott about urban life and future predictions, paired with two cartoons. The top cartoon depicts a police officer confronting what appears to be a woman in a speakeasy (an illegal bar during Prohibition). The caption reads: "He won't leave any finger prints with them gloves on, so I'll just have to look around for some other clues!" This satirizes how speakeasies operated openly despite Prohibition, with law enforcement either complicit or unable to enforce the law. The bottom cartoon shows someone being blown by an explosion, with the caption "Hey, Arthur! They's a dawg afish y'd!" The humor appears to derive from dialectal speech and slapstick misfortune. The "Scott Shots" text offers witty commentary on contemporary life: speakeasies, apartment design, theater culture, and bootleggers—reflecting 1920s urban concerns.