Comedic Relief in a Culture of Uncertainty: The Contribution of Life Magazine to 1920s America

Abstract

Amidst the chaotic atmosphere of the 1920s, Life magazine was a common sight in the homes of middle-class Americans everywhere.1 During this period of massive social and cultural change, many Americans experienced an unprecedented loss of certainty. As a humor and general interest publication existing during the time, Life capitalized on the vulnerability of Americans. Life worked on two distinct levels – while it fostered anxiety about modernity and the changing times, it also used humor to provide middle-class Americans with comedic relief from the very anxieties it fueled. In perpetuating the feeling of uncertainty, Life simultaneously offered itself as a salvation from the unsettling problems afflicting 1920s society.

Comedic Relief in a Culture of Uncertainty: The Contribution of Life Magazine in the 1920s by Andy Ho is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License