Life — October 30, 1931 — page 1: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Life Magazine Cover Analysis This is the October 20, 1931 cover of Life magazine, priced at 10 cents. The illustration by Aler depicts two stylized figures at what appears to be the "Red Devil Nite Club" (visible on a sign they're holding). The cartoon likely satirizes 1930s nightlife and Jazz Age culture. One figure wears a halo, suggesting angelic pretense, while the other sports a bow tie and appears more devilish—a visual contrast emphasizing hypocrisy about morality in speakeasy culture. The "Red Devil" club reference suggests prohibition-era illicit drinking establishments that operated despite legal bans. The juxtaposition of the halo'd "good" figure with the "devil" figure comments on the moral ambiguity and hidden nature of 1930s nightclub society, where respectable citizens frequented illegal establishments.