This article introduces the visual interpretation narrative exercise, an innovative visual research technique piloted in 2008 during doctoral fieldwork in Madagascar. Designed in the field in response to challenging research conditions, this technique uses cartoons to address sensitive subjects while establishing rapport with non-elite research participants. A three-tiered approach to qualitative data analysis emphasizes indigenous codes of meaning to reveal how concepts commonly associated with democracy are often reappropriated by local actors. Results from this research provide context for why local actors maintain particular attitudes and expectations.