CAT 2022 Slot 3 — VARC Question 18
The passage given below is followed by four alternate summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage.
“It does seem to me that the job of comedy is to offend, or have the potential to offend, and it cannot be drained of that potential,” Rowan Atkinson said of cancel culture. “Every joke has a victim. That’s the definition of a joke. Someone or something or an idea is made to look ridiculous.” The Netflix star continued, “I think you’ve got to be very, very careful about saying what you’re allowed to make jokes about. You’ve always got to kick up? Really?” He added, “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
Answer & solution
- A
Cancel culture does not understand the role and duty of comedians, which is to deride and mock everyone.
- B
Victims of jokes must not only be politicians and royalty, but also arrogant people from lower classes should be mentioned by comedians.
- C
Every joke needs a victim and one needs to include people from lower down the society and not just the upper class.
All jokes target someone and one should be able to joke about anyone in the society, which is inconsistent with cancel culture.
Easy
Summary question. Atkinson's argument has two linked parts: (a) every joke has a victim, so comedy must be free to target anyone — not just "kick up" at the powerful — and (b) this freedom runs against cancel culture, which restricts what may be joked about. The winning option must keep both the "anyone" scope and the clash with cancel culture.
Says the duty is to "deride and mock everyone." Distorts the tone and omits the key idea that one should be allowed to joke about anyone in a free society. Overstated, incomplete.
Reduces the point to "politicians and royalty... and arrogant lower-class people." A detail from the passage, not its essence; ignores the cancel-culture clash.
"Every joke needs a victim... include people lower down." Again only the example, missing the central claim about freedom to joke about anything and the conflict with cancel culture.
"All jokes target someone and one should be able to joke about anyone... which is inconsistent with cancel culture." Captures the universal-target premise, the "anyone" freedom, and the cancel-culture clash. Complete.
Option D — the only choice that ties the "every joke has a victim / joke about anyone" logic to its inconsistency with cancel culture.