Red Scare Canon — Cultural References from the Subreddit

Mars astrological influence (concept) 1 — Astrological theory correlating Mars's position relative to the lunar node with increased rocket attacks and military es...

Copa America (concept) 1 — South American soccer tournament praised for the intense passion displayed by both athletes and fans, contrasted favorab...

Urban Legend (film) 1 — 1998 horror film described as one of the worst knockoffs of Scream that may have damaged Alicia Witt's career.

Alicia Witt (person) 1 — Actress who starred in Urban Legend (1998), whose film career may have been damaged by appearing in that poorly-received...

Joan Harris (person) 1 — Character from Mad Men whose sexual exploitation in exchange for business highlighted the dual nature of female beauty a...

Conclave (film) 1 — 2024 Oscar-bait film cited as an example of mid-quality cinema even among supposedly good films during Hollywood's decli...

Glow (film) 1 — Netflix series about women's wrestling that was cancelled despite its quality, contrasted with expensive failures like R...

Rebel Moon (film) 1 — Expensive Netflix science fiction film criticized for wasting resources that could have gone to better shows, released i...

Missing Pieces (film) 1 — Collection of deleted scenes from Fire Walk with Me, mentioned as part of the complete Twin Peaks experience

Foundational Black Americans (concept) 1 — Political movement distinguishing descendants of American slaves from other Black Americans, now being promoted by Ryan ...

Circle K (place) 1 — Convenience store chain where user had a pleasant interaction with a stone-faced cashier

Kremlin (place) 1 — Historic Russian fortress and government complex in Moscow, mentioned as aspirational tourist sight

Lake Baikal (place) 1 — World's deepest freshwater lake in Siberia, mentioned as dream Russian tourist destination

Self-actualisation (concept) 1 — Critiqued as a modern scam replacing God with individual pursuit of fulfillment, argued to be an exhausting obligation r...

Modernity (concept) 1 — Philosophical concept discussed in relation to the death of God and the burden of self-actualisation, critiqued for the ...

Fundamentalism (concept) 1 — Religious extremism compared to liberal woke culture through shared mechanisms of moral policing, shunning, purity hiera...

Tenderloin (place) 1 — Impoverished San Francisco neighborhood characterized by extreme homelessness, drug use, and urban decay

Cyndi Lauper (person) 1 — 1980s musician referenced as having provided advice on how to attract women decades ago

Dream (person) 1 — Popular YouTuber who faced massive online harassment after revealing his face, with 'HE IS UGLY' trending on Twitter

VTuber (concept) 1 — Virtual YouTubers using anime avatars, criticized as appealing to pedophilic audiences with childlike personas

Akron (place) 1 — Ohio city sarcastically referenced in urban planning discourse as impossible to transform into Amsterdam

AJ Soprano (person) 1 — Character from The Sopranos referenced as representation of nu-metal loving suburban youth

Nu-metal (concept) 1 — Late 90s/early 2000s metal genre that the author insists was terrible but loved, rejecting critical reappraisals

Machine Head (person) 1 — Nu-metal band mentioned as example of the genre's appeal to the author as a youth

Mudvayne (person) 1 — Nu-metal band whose live concert DVD embarrassed the author's father

The Color Out Of Space (book) 1 — A horror story referenced as a metaphor for feeling invaded by an otherworldly presence in one's hometown

Gareth Southgate (person) 1 — A football manager criticized for substituting all three forwards during a match

Bread and Circuses (concept) 1 — A concept referring to cheap entertainment and food used to distract the working class from declining conditions

Ettingermentum (person) 1 — Political commentator and YouTuber who appeared on Hasan Piker's election night stream and commented on Democratic Party...

Neptune in Aries (concept) 1 — Astrological event involving Neptune's retrograde motion, humorously addressed with a spell containing numerological and...

Landscape Architecture (concept) 1 — Professional field mentioned as having good job prospects and real work that is always in demand.

Civil Engineering (concept) 1 — Professional field promoted as stable career with consistent demand, resistant to AI and H1-B competition due to licensi...

He Will Not Divide Us (concept) 1 — 2017 art project by Shia LaBeouf that became a crossover point between internet culture and real-world right-wing activi...

Shadow Ticket (book) 1 — Novel by an 88-year-old man noted as the only book standing out from moralistic liberal contemporary fiction.

Hedonistic Adaptation (concept) 1 — Psychological concept that superficial attributes like beauty and wealth lose their novelty over time in relationships.

Ben Gazzara (person) 1 — Actor who played Cosmo in The Killing of a Chinese Bookie, struggled with finding empathy for the character

Small Change (album) 1 — Tom Waits album evoked by the character Mr. Sophistication in The Killing of a Chinese Bookie

Robert Falcon Scott (person) 1 — Antarctic explorer whose final journal entries before death in 1912 exemplified British endurance and fortitude

penguinz0 (person) 1 — YouTube commentary channel creator mentioned as example of low-quality content consumption

Bedouins (concept) 1 — Nomadic Arab people used as example of dysfunction from polyamorous family structures

Fandom Culture (concept) 1 — Fan-centric approach to media criticism criticized for treating fiction as real worlds rather than narrative tools

Fridging (concept) 1 — Comic book term for killing off poorly-developed side characters to develop the main character, criticized as being trea...

ColdTurkey (concept) 1 — Website blocking application used to combat internet addiction by blocking social media feeds

Google Family Link (concept) 1 — Parental control app used by adults on themselves to limit phone usage and combat social media addiction

Green Line Test (concept) 1 — TikTok body language analysis trend that measures physical closeness in relationships, becoming mainstream

e/acc (concept) 1 — Effective Accelerationism movement in tech culture criticized as cringe ideological trend

d/acc (concept) 1 — Decentralized Accelerationism variant in tech culture criticized as cringe ideological trend

Pronatalism (concept) 1 — Movement promoting high birth rates in tech culture criticized as cringe ideological trend

MaXXXine (film) 1 — Film on which Mia Goth allegedly committed battery against an extra

Takis (concept) 1 — Imported snack food sold in vending machines alongside nitrous oxide bottles in Germany