🔗 Share this article

This resistance may not be televised, though it may feature webbed feet and protruding eyes.

Furthermore, it may involve a unicorn's horn or the plumage of a chicken.

Whilst demonstrations against the administration continue in US cities, participants are adopting the vibe of a neighborhood dress-up party. They've offered dance instruction, distributed snacks, and ridden unicycles, as police observe.

Mixing comedy and political action – a strategy experts term "tactical frivolity" – is not new. But it has become a hallmark of American protest in recent years, used by all sides of the political spectrum.

One particular emblem has risen to become particularly salient – the frog. It started after video footage of a confrontation between a protester in an amphibian costume and immigration enforcement agents in Portland, Oregon, went viral. From there, it proliferated to protests throughout the United States.

"A great deal happening with that humble blow-up amphibian," states an expert, a professor at UC Davis and a Guggenheim Fellow who studies performance art.

From Pepe to Portland

It is difficult to examine demonstrations and amphibians without addressing Pepe, an illustrated figure co-opted by online communities during a previous presidential campaign.

As the character initially spread online, it was used to convey specific feelings. Later, its use evolved to endorse a political figure, including one notable meme retweeted by that figure himself, depicting Pepe with recognizable attire and hairstyle.

Pepe was also depicted in right-wing online communities in darker contexts, as a historical dictator. Users traded "rare Pepes" and set up cryptocurrency using its likeness. Its famous line, "feels good, man", was used a coded signal.

Yet the character did not originate so controversial.

The artist behind it, the illustrator, has stated about his disapproval for its co-option. The character was intended as simply a relaxed amphibian in his comic world.

The frog debuted in comic strips in 2005 – non-political and notable for a particular bathroom habit. A film, which chronicles Mr Furie's efforts to take back of his creation, he said the character came from his time with friends and roommates.

When he began, Mr Furie experimented with uploading his work to early internet platforms, where people online began to borrow, remix and reinvent the frog. When the meme proliferated into darker parts of the internet, Mr Furie attempted to distance himself from his creation, including ending its life in a final panel.

However, its legacy continued.

"It proves the lack of control over symbols," says the professor. "They transform and be reclaimed."

Until recently, the notoriety of Pepe resulted in amphibian imagery became a symbol for conservative politics. But that changed in early October, when a viral moment between a protestor dressed in a blow-up amphibian suit and a federal agent in Portland, Oregon spread rapidly online.

The event occurred shortly after an order to deploy the National Guard to the city, which was described as "war-ravaged". Demonstrators began to congregate outside a facility, just outside of an immigration enforcement facility.

Tensions were high and an agent deployed pepper spray at a protester, targeting the air intake fan of the inflatable suit.

Seth Todd, the man in the costume, reacted humorously, remarking he had tasted "spicier tamales". However, the video became a sensation.

Mr Todd's attire was not too unusual for Portland, famous for its quirky culture and left-wing protests that embrace the unusual – public yoga, retro fitness classes, and nude cycling groups. The city's unofficial motto is "Keep Portland Weird."

The frog became part of in a lawsuit between the federal government and Portland, which argued the deployment was illegal.

Although a ruling was issued in October that the president was within its rights to deploy troops, a dissenting judge wrote, noting in her opinion demonstrators' "known tendency for using unusual attire when expressing opposition."

"Observers may be tempted the court's opinion, which adopts the description of Portland as a battlefield, as merely absurd," Judge Susan Graber opined. "But today's decision is not merely absurd."

The order was stopped legally just a month later, and troops have reportedly departed the city.

Yet already, the amphibian costume had transformed into a potent anti-administration symbol for progressive movements.

This symbol appeared across the country at No Kings protests that fall. There were frogs – and unicorns and axolotls and dinosaurs – in San Diego and Atlanta and Boston. They were in rural communities and global metropolises like Tokyo and London.

This item was backordered on online retailers, and saw its cost increase.

Shaping the Visual Story

The link between the two amphibian symbols – is the interplay between the humorous, benign cartoon and a deeper political meaning. Experts call this "tactical frivolity."

The tactic is based on what the professor calls the "irresistible image" – often silly, it's a "appealing and non-threatening" performance that draws focus to a message without explicitly stating them. This is the goofy costume you wear, or the meme you share.

Mr Bogad is both an expert on this topic and a veteran practitioner. He authored a book called 'Tactical Performance', and taught workshops internationally.

"You could go back to historical periods – when people are dominated, absurd humor is used to speak the truth a little bit and while maintaining a layer of protection."

The theory of such tactics is multi-faceted, he says.

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