Question

What is true of satire: The intent is to convince the masses to trust their leaders; Rooted in the hope for reform; Based on ancient folk wisdom; Its intent is to provide light-hearted entertainment?

Answer 1

Hint: Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, quite frequent in the form of fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses and shortcomings are put up to be ridiculed, with the intent of shaming individuals, corporations, government, or society itself with the purpose of improving the society.

Complete answer:
Satire can have different purposes. Satire entertains while also providing food for thought for the audience. There are times and places that it has been dangerous to express disapproval of or the inequities of the authority. Satire can provide a medium to convey what cannot be spoken about.
Not all satire makes light of serious situations.

Let us now analyse the options given in the question:
A) The intent is to convince the masses to trust their leaders – This statement is incorrect since satire aims to ridicule the leaders for their vices and disapprove of them.
B) Rooted in the hope for reform – This statement is correct since the ultimate aim of using satire is to stir the betterment of society and reform the system.
C) Based on ancient folk wisdom – This statement is incorrect since satire has majorly originated after the 18th Century and is contrary to the manner in which ancient folk wisdom has used to achieve their goals.
D) Its intent is to provide light-hearted entertainment – This statement is also incorrect as satire can be used to simply make fun of someone or something. This can be defined as satire for entertainment purposes, but it is not to be confused with "lighthearted" satire because it is often mean-spirited.

Note: Laughter is not an essential component of satire; in fact, there are types of satire that are not meant to be "funny" at all. But on the other side, not all humour, even on subjects like politics, religion, or literature, is inherently "satirical," even when it employs satirical techniques like irony, parody, and burlesque. Also light-hearted humour has a serious "aftertaste," as the organisers of the Ig Nobel Prize put it: "let people laugh first, then think."