Red Scare Canon — Cultural References from the Subreddit

Google Maps (place) 1 — A digital mapping service used obsessively in combination with Wikipedia to explore random places around the world.

Vibes-based politics (concept) 1 — A contemporary political phenomenon where emotion and perception trump substantive policy positions in determining elect...

The Phantom of the Paradise (film) 1 — A cult film whose rep screening at the Music Box Theater was marred by fans performatively laughing to show their knowle...

The Sweet East (film) 1 — A new film mentioned as an example where audiences at indie theaters engaged in performative laughter.

Czechia (place) 1 — A country whose train system is more reliable than Germany's despite lower economic status.

Michael Owen (person) 1 — Former English footballer analyzed in detail as potentially having autism based on his unusual behaviors, routines, and ...

Cool Runnings (film) 1 — One of the eight films Michael Owen watched and hated, mentioned in BBC article about his dislike of cinema.

Vlad the Impaler (person) 1 — Historical figure known for impaling victims, used as metaphor for someone with a stick up their ass.

Drew Brees (person) 1 — Former NFL quarterback criticized for doing advertising for gambling sites, adding legitimacy to predatory industry.

Manchester United (place) 1 — English football club where Michael Owen played, with fans discussing his autistic traits on forums.

Eiko Ishioka (person) 1 — Japanese art director and costume designer described as one of the poster's favorite creative visionaries.

Vinyl chloride (concept) 1 — A toxic chemical pollutant discussed in relation to the Ohio train disaster, described as the last step in the TCE Degra...

Diaoyutai State Guesthouse (place) 1 — Chinese state guesthouse where Kissinger met with Xi Jinping and first met with Chinese officials nearly fifty years ago...

Kristen Bell (person) 1 — Short, semi-hot, cocky and wisecracking celebrity actress disliked by the poster but loved by Reddit.

Solomon's Temple (place) 1 — Ancient Jewish temple referenced in discussion of hypothetical Israeli religious expansionism

The Gentrification of Disability (book) 1 — Freddie DeBoer essay about how the public face of disabilities consists of people least impaired by them, discussed in c...

A Woman Under the Influence (film) 1 — Film watched by a person dealing with breakup and social isolation

Opening Night (film) 1 — Film watched as part of a post-breakup film viewing routine

Five Easy Pieces (film) 1 — Film watched as part of structured routine following breakup and social loss

Grill-pill (concept) 1 — A lifestyle concept or zone described by someone taking long walks, engaging with their neighborhood, and finding conten...

Conscientiousness (concept) 1 — A personality trait discussed in relation to its troubling decline, as referenced in an archived Financial Times article...

Polish movie posters (concept) 1 — A distinctive artistic tradition of movie poster design from Poland, discussed with reference to their insane history an...

Middletown, OH (place) 1 — An Ohio city where the poster's mother frequented a shitty rock bar in 1988 and had an encounter involving the drummer f...

Charlotte Mason nature journaling (concept) 1 — An approach to nature observation and artistic documentation mentioned as a method for logging different things one sees...

Merlin ID (concept) 1 — A bird identification app that can identify birds by hearing their bird songs, recommended for people wanting to connect...

Cornell Lab of Ornithology (place) 1 — Cornell University's bird department with a large website containing bird ID and information resources for nature enthus...

Suzy Weiss (person) 1 — Writer who published a Substack article titled 'Generation Swipe' about contemporary dating culture

Generation Swipe (book) 1 — Substack article by Suzy Weiss critiquing contemporary dating culture and the effects of online dating

Bethel, Alaska (place) 1 — Remote southwestern Alaska location described as closer to Russia than to mainland America, visited for university field...

University of Alaska (place) 1 — Educational institution mentioned in context of field research trip to remote Alaska

Guinness (concept) 1 — Beer brand discussed as potentially becoming overly hyped cultural signifier in UK similar to 'epic bacon' trend.

Papyrus (concept) 1 — Font referenced as example of poor aesthetic taste that undermines credibility.

MSM (concept) 1 — Mainstream media criticized for uniformly opposing Luigi Mangione despite their stated concerns about healthcare.

Jack Daniels (concept) 1 — Whiskey brand mentioned as part of inheritance left to poster by their grandfather.

Prometheus (person) 1 — Greek mythological figure who was punished by Zeus for giving fire to humans, invoked as metaphor for AI technology bein...

Zeus (person) 1 — Greek god referenced in context of punishing Prometheus, used as metaphor for restricting creative power from the masses

Just World Fallacy (concept) 1 — Cognitive bias applied to dating where people believe romantic success is a moral reward system based on deserving outco...

The Father (film) 1 — Recent film predicted to become a classic alongside The Zone of Interest

NSYNC (album) 1 — Boy band that sold the most physical music CDs in one week ever with album featuring 'bye bye bye'

Static-X (album) 1 — Nu-metal band mentioned as part of early 2000s musical context

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (film) 1 — Comedy news show cited as formative influence on stereotypical liberal political views in the Pacific Northwest

Eugene (place) 1 — Oregon city described as spiritually sterile, performatively liberal, and culturally empty with white milquetoast politi...

Northern Mexico (place) 1 — Region mentioned as original home contrasted with spiritual sterility of Pacific Northwest

Harvard Lampoon (place) 1 — Elite comedy institution associated with Ivy League funny guys who come from wealth and have an easy path to success

Joe Manchin (person) 1 — U.S. Senator who r/neoliberal users claim is saving democracy according to satirical commentary.

Kyrsten Sinema (person) 1 — U.S. Senator who r/neoliberal users claim is saving democracy according to satirical commentary.

Keynesianism (concept) 1 — Economic theory referenced as a compromise position when socialism or social democracy are not achievable.

Crocodile Dundee (film) 1 — Film referenced as contributing to the stereotype of Australians as happy-go-lucky and rule-averse, which a user argues ...

TheGrillcast (film) 1 — Satirical podcast hosted by Orion, who trolled r/antiwork moderators by posing as an exploited unpaid Reddit moderator.

r/watchredditdie (place) 1 — Now-inactive subreddit focused on exposing moderator abuse and corruption within Reddit, continued by the Twitter accoun...