And the first images out of Virginia Tech during the 2007 campus shooting were taken by students before professionals could hit the scene, added Nora Paul, founding director of the Institute for New Media Studies at the University of Minnesota.

CNN: Neda: Latest iconic image to inspire

Getting a pastor or church leader interested is key, says Mara Einstein, a professor of media studies at Queens College in New York.

WSJ: Small Tech Firms Tap Into Churches

Films are steeped in lore of the little guy raging against injustice, sometimes based on historical figures such as Bonnie and Clyde, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and Frank and Jesse James, said Elayne Rapping, a retired professor of American and media studies at the State University of New York in Buffalo.

CNN: Ex-LAPD cop gains sympathizers on social media