Life, 1929-06-07 · page 27 of 48
Life — June 7, 1929 — page 27: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page from *Life* magazine presents satirical "Scott Shots"—brief, cynical observations on contemporary American life, likely from the 1920s based on references to Prohibition and speakeasies. The main cartoon shows an airplane in distress, with passengers and cargo falling. A contest invites readers to title the picture (prizes $500 down to $25), suggesting the absurd humor of the scene. The "Scott Shots" mock various targets: bank executives' dishonest signatures, misleading cigarette advertisements, distracted female drivers, the decline of proper English, the motto to "shoot women and children first" (mocking chivalry), wealthy Chicagoans unaware of gang violence, and modern corruptions like nightclubs and installment buying. The bottom cartoon labeled "Why not?" shows two women on a street—one apparently propositioning the other—capturing era anxieties about changing female morality and behavior during the Jazz Age. The tone is darkly humorous, reflecting post-WWI disillusionment and social upheaval.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Life Scott Shots = Cyn you think of a Title Prohibition song—Just me and the man with the moon. for this Picture? 1st Prize $500 2nd Prize $250 An important bank president is usu- ally simple and_ straightforward in 3rd Prize $100 everything but his signature. 4th to 9th Prizes $25 Each According to the advertisements— 1 cigarette a day keeps the doctor away. A woman's hands are wonderfully expressive—but not when she’s driv- ing the car ahead of you. Dead languages—Greek, Latin and The King’s English. Dey Acent’s Maxim—S Hoot Women ano Cuicpren First. There are some men so insignifi- cant that they are not even known by their speakeasy proprietors. And there are people in Chicago . who are so poor they don’t know 1 . \ where the next bullet is coming from. : ‘. Shakespeare modernized—All the world’s a nightclub, and all the men and women merely suckers Ideal installment plan—A dollar down and a dollar whenever you think of it. Definition of an actor—A man who tries to be everything but himself. Hollywood studios are cutting down . on their staffs, The way of the yesser “Why not?” is hard. —W. W, Scott. comicbooks.com