It is suggested that media contribute to the adoption of norms and behavioral expectations by showing symbolic rewards and punishments for particular attitudes and behaviors. Much research has found repeated cases of slanting, trivialization and outright omission of those who deviate from the norms of an elite media and participate in political protest. Yet, little research has examined how individuals negotiate and assimilate these representations into their personal view of protest and civic participation. This exploratory research examines how focus group participants responded to protest images that have been suggested by previous scholars as either “positive” or “negative.” Focus groups were held in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch to gauge perceptions of protest according to a four-stage constant comparison method. Two frames previously considered to be negative in scholarly research were found to be generally positive by participants. By appealing to the participants’ sense of fun, these protest images actually engendered a certain level of empathy and support from those questioned in this study. This is a potentially interesting finding for both the social movements striving for media attention and media outlets whose frames can have a profound impact on movement activity.