🔗 Share this article

This revolution won't be broadcast, yet it might possess webbed feet and bulging eyes.

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

While rallies against the leadership continue in US cities, participants have embraced the spirit of a local block party. They've offered salsa lessons, distributed treats, and performed on unicycles, as police observe.

Blending humour and political action – a strategy researchers refer to as "tactical frivolity" – isn't novel. However, it has emerged as a defining feature of US demonstrations in the current era, adopted by various groups.

And one symbol has proven to be particularly salient – the frog. It started when recordings of a clash between a protester in an inflatable frog and immigration enforcement agents in the city of Portland, spread online. It subsequently appeared to demonstrations throughout the United States.

"There is much at play with that humble inflatable frog," states a professor, a professor at University of California, Davis and a Guggenheim Fellow who specialises in performance art.

The Path From a Cartoon Frog to the Streets of Portland

It's hard to talk about demonstrations and amphibians without addressing Pepe, a cartoon character adopted by far-right groups during an election cycle.

When the meme gained popularity on the internet, people used it to signal specific feelings. Afterwards, it was deployed to endorse a political figure, including one notable meme endorsed by that figure himself, depicting the frog with recognizable attire and hairstyle.

The frog was also portrayed in digital spaces in offensive ways, as a historical dictator. Participants exchanged "unique frog images" and set up digital currency in his name. Its famous line, "feels good, man", was deployed a shared phrase.

But the character did not originate so controversial.

Its creator, artist Matt Furie, has expressed about his disapproval for its co-option. The character was intended as simply a "chill frog-dude" in this artist's universe.

Pepe debuted in a series of comics in 2005 – non-political and best known for a particular bathroom habit. In a documentary, which chronicles Mr Furie's efforts to wrest back control of his creation, he explained his drawing was inspired by his experiences with friends and roommates.

When he began, Mr Furie experimented with sharing his art to new websites, where other users began to copy, alter, and reinterpret the frog. When the meme proliferated into fringe areas of the internet, Mr Furie sought to reject his creation, even killing him off in a comic strip.

Yet the frog persisted.

"It proves that we don't control icons," says Prof Bogad. "They can change and shift and be repurposed."

Until recently, the notoriety of this meme meant that amphibian imagery were largely associated with conservative politics. But that changed on a day in October, when an incident between a protestor dressed in an inflatable frog costume and a federal agent in Portland captured global attention.

The event came just days after a directive to deploy military personnel to Portland, which was described as "war-ravaged". Protesters began to congregate on a single block, just outside of an immigration enforcement facility.

The situation was tense and an immigration officer used irritant at the individual, targeting the air intake fan of the inflatable suit.

The protester, Seth Todd, quipped, remarking he had tasted "spicier tamales". Yet the footage became a sensation.

Mr Todd's attire fit right in for the city, renowned for its eccentric vibe and activist demonstrations that embrace the unusual – public yoga, retro fitness classes, and nude cycling groups. A local saying is "Keep Portland Weird."

The costume was also referenced in a lawsuit between the administration and Portland, which argued the deployment was illegal.

Although a ruling was issued in October that the president had the right to deploy troops, a dissenting judge wrote, referencing in her ruling demonstrators' "propensity for wearing chicken suits when expressing opposition."

"Observers may be tempted the court's opinion, which adopts the description of Portland as a battlefield, as simply ridiculous," Judge Susan Graber stated. "However, this ruling is not merely absurd."

The action was "permanently" blocked soon after, and personnel have reportedly departed the city.

However, by that time, the frog was now a significant anti-administration symbol for the left.

The inflatable suit was spotted across the country at No Kings protests last autumn. Frogs appeared – along with other creatures – in major US cities. They were in small towns and global metropolises like Tokyo and London.

The inflatable suit was backordered on online retailers, and saw its cost increase.

Mastering the Narrative

What brings both frogs together – is the interplay between the humorous, benign cartoon and a deeper political meaning. This is what "tactical frivolity."

The strategy relies on what Mr Bogad terms the "irresistible image" – usually humorous, it acts as a "disarming and charming" act that draws focus to a message without needing explicitly stating them. It's the silly outfit you wear, or the meme circulated.

Mr Bogad is both an expert on this topic and someone who uses these tactics. He authored a text called 'Tactical Performance', and led seminars around the world.

"One can look back to historical periods – when people are dominated, they use absurdity to express dissent a little bit and still have plausible deniability."

The theory of such tactics is multi-faceted, Mr Bogad explains.

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