Spacemen and Cavemen Basketball Game 

Jack Davis made this illustration, "Spacemen and Cavemen Basketball Game," at some point during his long career. He's best known for his satirical cartoons in Mad Magazine. Davis grew up during the Great Depression, and his childhood experiences informed his populist sensibilities. The Spacemen and Cavemen here are engaged in a basketball game, a popular American sport. The Spacemen, a team of green aliens, are shown to be athletic and skilled, while the cavemen are short and hairy, struggling to understand what they are seeing. Davis seems to be poking fun at our fascination with both the past and the future. He's also challenging our assumptions about who is 'civilized' and who is not. The illustration’s humour feels warm. It asks us to consider our place in the world, our history, and our relationship to technology and progress. Do you find yourself more drawn to the Spacemen or the Cavemen?