Interesting analogy. I have to say I love satire and I think it does document human protest in quite important ways. For example, Animal Farm re: Communist Russia. Or Dr Strangelove's savage and eternally relevant take on mutually assured nuclear destruction.

Also, self-important institutions find themselves ripe for satire (for example, the targets of news media targets of Brass Eye and The Day Today). I think such satire can act as a lesson in self-awareness, and as such a good bit of self-questioning.