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This revolution may not be televised, yet it might possess amphibious toes and bulging eyes.

Furthermore, it may involve a unicorn's horn or a chicken's feathers.

While rallies against the leadership carry on in American cities, protesters are utilizing the vibe of a community costume parade. They've offered salsa lessons, handed out treats, and ridden unicycles, while armed law enforcement watch.

Combining comedy and political action – a strategy researchers term "tactical frivolity" – has historical precedent. But it has become a defining feature of protests in the United States in the current era, adopted by various groups.

And one symbol has emerged as especially powerful – the frog. It began when a video of a confrontation between a protester in an inflatable frog and ICE agents in Portland, Oregon, went viral. And it has since spread to protests nationwide.

"A great deal going on with that little inflatable frog," says LM Bogad, a professor at UC Davis and an academic who studies creative activism.

From the Pepe Meme to the Streets of Portland

It's hard to talk about protests and frogs without mentioning Pepe, a web comic frog co-opted by far-right groups throughout a political race.

When the character gained popularity online, its purpose was to signal certain emotions. Subsequently, its use evolved to endorse a political figure, even a particular image shared by the candidate personally, showing the frog with recognizable attire and hairstyle.

Pepe was also depicted in digital spaces in darker contexts, portrayed as a historical dictator. Online conservatives exchanged "unique frog images" and established digital currency using its likeness. His catchphrase, "feels good, man", was deployed a shared phrase.

But Pepe didn't start out so controversial.

The artist behind it, the illustrator, has stated about his disapproval for its appropriation. The character was intended as simply a relaxed amphibian in this artist's universe.

This character debuted in a series of comics in 2005 – apolitical and best known for a particular bathroom habit. In a documentary, which follows Mr Furie's efforts to take back of his work, he said the character came from his life with companions.

When he began, the artist tried uploading his work to the nascent social web, where other users began to borrow, remix and reinvent the frog. When the meme proliferated into the more extreme corners of the internet, Mr Furie sought to reject the frog, even killing him off in a comic strip.

Yet the frog persisted.

"This demonstrates the lack of control over icons," explains the professor. "They transform and be reworked."

Previously, the popularity of Pepe resulted in amphibian imagery were largely associated with the right. But that changed in early October, when a confrontation between a protestor wearing a blow-up amphibian suit and an immigration officer in Portland went viral.

This incident came just days after a decision to deploy military personnel to Portland, which was called "a warzone". Demonstrators began to assemble in large numbers at a specific location, just outside of a federal building.

Emotions ran high and an immigration officer sprayed irritant at the individual, directing it into the ventilation of the puffy frog costume.

Seth Todd, the man in the costume, responded with a joke, saying it tasted like "something milder". But the incident went viral.

Mr Todd's attire fit right in for Portland, renowned for its unconventional spirit and activist demonstrations that delight in the ridiculous – public yoga, 80s-style aerobics lessons, and unique parades. The city's unofficial motto is "Keep Portland Weird."

The costume was also referenced in the ensuing legal battle between the administration and the city, which contended the use of troops overstepped authority.

Although a ruling was issued that month that the administration was within its rights to deploy troops, a dissenting judge wrote, referencing in her ruling the protesters' "propensity for donning inflatable costumes while voicing dissent."

"Observers may be tempted the majority's ruling, which adopts the government's characterization as a battlefield, as merely absurd," Judge Susan Graber opined. "But today's decision is not merely absurd."

The deployment was "permanently" blocked just a month later, and troops withdrew from the area.

Yet already, the frog had become a significant protest icon for progressive movements.

The costume was spotted in many cities at anti-authoritarian protests that fall. There were frogs – and unicorns and axolotls and dinosaurs – in major US cities. They were in small towns and global metropolises abroad.

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

Controlling the Visual Story

The link between both frogs together – is the relationship between the humorous, benign cartoon and underlying political significance. Experts call this "tactical frivolity."

The strategy rests on what the professor terms a "disarming display" – frequently absurd, it's a "appealing and non-threatening" act that calls attention to a message without needing directly articulating them. This is the unusual prop you wear, or the meme you share.

The professor is an analyst in the subject and someone who uses these tactics. He's written a book called 'Tactical Performance', and led seminars internationally.

"One can look back to the Middle Ages – under oppressive regimes, absurd humor is used to speak the truth a little bit and still have plausible deniability."

The purpose of such tactics is three-fold, Mr Bogad explains.

As activists confront a powerful opposition, humorous attire {takes control of|seizes|influences