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This revolution isn't broadcast, but it could have amphibious toes and bulging eyes.

It also might feature the horn of a unicorn or the plumage of a chicken.

While rallies against the leadership carry on in US cities, demonstrators are utilizing the vibe of a neighborhood dress-up party. They've provided salsa lessons, given away snacks, and performed on unicycles, as armed law enforcement look on.

Mixing levity and politics – a strategy researchers call "tactical frivolity" – is not new. But it has become a defining feature of protests in the United States in this period, adopted by all sides of the political spectrum.

A specific icon has emerged as notably significant – the frog. It began when a video of a confrontation between an individual in a frog suit and immigration enforcement agents in Portland, Oregon, spread online. From there, it proliferated to protests across the country.

"There is much at play with that little blow-up amphibian," states LM Bogad, who teaches at University of California, Davis and a Guggenheim Fellow who specialises in political performance.

From Pepe to the Streets of Portland

It's hard to talk about demonstrations and amphibians without mentioning Pepe, a web comic frog co-opted by online communities throughout a previous presidential campaign.

As this image first took off on the internet, it was used to express specific feelings. Afterwards, it was utilized to endorse a political figure, including one notable meme endorsed by that figure personally, depicting Pepe with recognizable attire and hairstyle.

Images also circulated in right-wing online communities in darker contexts, portrayed as a hate group member. Online conservatives exchanged "rare Pepes" and established digital currency in his name. Its famous line, "feels good, man", became a coded signal.

Yet its beginnings were not as a political symbol.

Matt Furie, artist Matt Furie, has stated about his unhappiness for its appropriation. The character was intended as simply a relaxed amphibian in his series.

Pepe first appeared in an online comic in the mid-2000s – apolitical and notable for a particular bathroom habit. In 'Feels Good Man', which documents the creator's attempt to wrest back control of his creation, he stated the character came from his experiences with companions.

When he began, the artist experimented with uploading his work to early internet platforms, where people online began to borrow, remix and reinvent his character. As its popularity grew into darker parts of the internet, the creator attempted to distance himself from the frog, including ending its life in a final panel.

However, its legacy continued.

"It shows the lack of control over icons," states the professor. "They transform and be reclaimed."

Until recently, the notoriety of Pepe meant that amphibian imagery became a symbol for the right. This shifted recently, when a confrontation between a protestor wearing an inflatable frog costume and a federal agent in Portland, Oregon went viral.

The moment occurred shortly after a directive to deploy military personnel to Portland, which was called "war-ravaged". Activists began to gather in droves on a single block, just outside of an immigration enforcement facility.

Emotions ran high and an agent used irritant at a protester, directing it into the air intake fan of the costume.

Seth Todd, Seth Todd, quipped, stating it tasted like "spicier tamales". However, the video went viral.

The frog suit fit right in for the city, known for its unconventional spirit and left-wing protests that embrace the ridiculous – public yoga, 80s-style aerobics lessons, and nude cycling groups. Its creed is "Embrace the Strange."

This symbol even played a role in a lawsuit between the federal government and the city, which contended the deployment was illegal.

While a judge decided that month that the president had the right to send personnel, a dissenting judge wrote, noting in her opinion demonstrators' "known tendency for wearing chicken suits when expressing opposition."

"It is easy to see this decision, which accepts the description of Portland as a battlefield, as merely absurd," the dissenting judge opined. "However, this ruling has serious implications."

The action was halted by courts subsequently, and troops are said to have left the city.

However, by that time, the frog had become a powerful protest icon for the left.

This symbol was seen across the country at anti-authoritarian protests that fall. Frogs appeared – along with other creatures – in San Diego and Atlanta and Boston. They were in rural communities and global metropolises abroad.

The frog costume was sold out on online retailers, and became more expensive.

Mastering the Visual Story

The link between Pepe and the protest frog – is the interplay between the humorous, benign cartoon and a deeper political meaning. This is what "tactical frivolity."

The strategy rests on what Mr Bogad calls a "disarming display" – usually humorous, it's a "disarming and charming" act that highlights a cause without needing explicitly stating them. It's the silly outfit you wear, or the meme circulated.

Mr Bogad is an analyst on this topic and a veteran practitioner. He's written a text called 'Tactical Performance', and led seminars around the world.

"One can look back to historical periods – under oppressive regimes, absurd humor is used to express dissent a little bit and still have a layer of protection."

The purpose of this approach is three-fold, Mr Bogad says.

As activists confront the state, a silly costume {takes control of|seizes|influences