🔗 Share this article

The protest movement isn't televised, yet it might possess amphibious toes and large eyes.

Additionally, it could include a unicorn's horn or the plumage of a chicken.

While protests against the government continue in American cities, demonstrators are utilizing the spirit of a local block party. They have taught dance instruction, distributed snacks, and ridden unicycles, while armed law enforcement look on.

Mixing comedy and politics – a tactic social scientists call "tactical frivolity" – isn't novel. However, it has emerged as a signature characteristic of American protest in recent years, used by both left and right.

A specific icon has proven to be notably significant – the frog. It started when recordings of a clash between an individual in an inflatable frog and immigration enforcement agents in the city of Portland, spread online. It subsequently appeared to protests nationwide.

"There's a lot at play with that little frog costume," says an expert, who teaches at University of California, Davis and a Guggenheim Fellow who specialises in performance art.

The Path From the Pepe Meme to Portland

It's hard to discuss demonstrations and amphibians without addressing Pepe, an illustrated figure co-opted by online communities throughout a previous presidential campaign.

As this image initially spread online, its purpose was to signal specific feelings. Later, it was utilized to express backing for a political figure, even a particular image shared by that figure himself, depicting the frog with recognizable attire and hairstyle.

Images also circulated in certain internet forums in darker contexts, portrayed as a hate group member. Online conservatives exchanged "rare Pepes" and set up digital currency in his name. His catchphrase, "feels good, man", was used an inside joke.

But its beginnings were not as a political symbol.

Its creator, the illustrator, has expressed about his unhappiness for its co-option. The character was intended as simply a "chill frog-dude" in his comic world.

This character first appeared in comic strips in 2005 – apolitical and best known for a quirky behavior. In 'Feels Good Man', which documents Mr Furie's efforts to take back of his work, he explained his drawing came from his time with companions.

When he began, Mr Furie tried uploading his work to the nascent social web, where other users began to borrow, remix and reinvent the frog. As its popularity grew into the more extreme corners of online spaces, Mr Furie sought to reject the frog, including ending its life in a final panel.

However, its legacy continued.

"It shows that creators cannot own icons," says the professor. "Their meaning can evolve and be repurposed."

For a long time, the popularity of this meme meant that frogs became a symbol for conservative politics. A transformation occurred in early October, when an incident between an activist dressed in an inflatable frog costume and an immigration officer in Portland spread rapidly online.

This incident followed an order to deploy the National Guard to Portland, which was called "a warzone". Demonstrators began to congregate outside a facility, just outside of a federal building.

The situation was tense and a officer deployed a chemical agent at a protester, directing it into the ventilation of the costume.

The individual, the man in the costume, reacted humorously, stating he had tasted "something milder". But the incident became a sensation.

The costume fit right in for Portland, famous for its quirky culture and activist demonstrations that delight in the absurd – outdoor exercise, 80s-style aerobics lessons, and nude cycling groups. The city's unofficial motto is "Embrace the Strange."

This symbol became part of in subsequent court proceedings between the federal government and Portland, which claimed the deployment was unlawful.

While the court ruled in October that the administration had the right to send personnel, a minority opinion disagreed, noting in her opinion demonstrators' "well-known penchant for donning inflatable costumes while voicing their disagreement."

"Observers may be tempted this decision, which adopts the government's characterization as a battlefield, as merely absurd," she opined. "However, this ruling is not merely absurd."

The deployment was stopped legally soon after, and personnel are said to have left the city.

However, by that time, the frog had become a powerful anti-administration symbol for progressive movements.

This symbol was spotted across the country at No Kings protests last autumn. Amphibian costumes were present – along with other creatures – in San Diego and Atlanta and Boston. They were in rural communities and global metropolises like Tokyo and London.

The frog costume was sold out on major websites, and saw its cost increase.

Controlling the Visual Story

What brings the two amphibian symbols – lies in the interplay between the silly, innocent image and a deeper political meaning. Experts call this "tactical frivolity."

The strategy is based on what the professor terms the "irresistible image" – often silly, it's a "disarming and charming" performance that highlights a message without needing explicitly stating them. It's the silly outfit you wear, or the meme circulated.

The professor is both an expert in the subject and a veteran practitioner. He's written a book called 'Tactical Performance', and taught workshops internationally.

"One can look back to historical periods – under oppressive regimes, absurd humor is used to speak the truth indirectly and while maintaining plausible deniability."

The theory of such tactics is three-fold, he explains.

When activists confront a powerful opposition, a silly costume {takes control of|seizes|influences