Red Scare Canon — Cultural References from the Subreddit

William Deresiewicz (person) 2 — Author of The Death of the Artist who writes about the commodification and devaluation of art in contemporary culture.

To Catch a Predator (film) 2 — Reality TV show cited as an example of earlier, more removed true crime media compared to modern bodycam footage documen...

Jack in the Box (place) 2 — Fast food chain mentioned alongside McDonald's and Taco Bell as places where drive-through usage is more understandable.

Semen retention (concept) 2 — Practice formerly discussed seriously on the subreddit before 2020 as a way to sharpen the body and elevate the spirit

Cyrus the Great (person) 2 — Ancient Persian ruler whose tomb was being used by shepherds before European archaeologists arrived, symbolizing Iranian...

Queen's Gambit (film) 2 — Popular Netflix show cited as a normie cultural anchor that the poster wishes friends would express disdain for

Dookie (album) 2 — Green Day album that a socially awkward coworker listened to front-to-back and provided meticulous song interpretations ...

Balthazar (place) 2 — Restaurant in NYC mentioned as a place to take publishing industry dates.

Savitri Devi (person) 2 — Author described as the original white woman finding yoga with connections to esoteric neo-Nazism.

Euronymous (person) 2 — Black metal musician whose murder by Varg Vikernes is still discussed by Vikernes in his TikTok videos.

Bene Gesserit (concept) 2 — Powerful sisterhood from Dune, compared to Grimes as an 'art hoe' in speculation about her breeding program with Elon Mu...

BYD (place) 2 — Chinese electric car manufacturer producing affordable vehicles unavailable in US market that could compete with America...

The Warriors (film) 2 — A film referenced in the context of a hypothetical race war with coordinated outfits.

Yuri Gagarin (person) 2 — Soviet cosmonaut celebrated as first human in space, son of working-class bricklayer and milkmaid

Washington Square Park (place) 2 — A New York City park where a chess hustler operates and plans to return in nice weather to play games.

Herschel Walker (person) 2 — Political candidate and former athlete whose senate campaign was embroiled in scandal involving alleged abortion payment...

r/pics (place) 2 — Reddit community where a user inappropriately posted a photo of another user with Dasha, leading to an apology.

Arsenal (place) 2 — English football club that Adam Friedland allegedly compares every story to in an off-putting manner.

Matt Groening (person) 2 — Creator of The Simpsons, arguably associated with the Dark Soy archetype of cynical 1990s adult nerd culture.

Jamie Dimon (person) 2 — CEO of JPMorgan Chase, referenced as an example of a billionaire whose wealth has become so abstract that continued mone...

Saul Bass (person) 2 — American graphic designer known for iconic film posters including Vertigo and The Shining, noted for his fish-themed sig...

Vertigo (film) 2 — Classic film for which Saul Bass designed the iconic poster.

Mother Theresa (person) 2 — Catholic nun invoked sarcastically to criticize rich people who leave garbage on the street with 'take what you need' si...

Oligarchy (concept) 2 — System of government controlled by a small wealthy elite, discussed as Russia's current model and a potential future for...

Yahoo Answers (place) 2 — A defunct online question-and-answer platform compared to r/redscarepod for users asking for major life advice

lit.salon (place) 2 — A Goodreads alternative created for the Red Scare audience that now features original writing capabilities and has aroun...

The Holocaust (concept) 2 — Historical genocide that a coworker was reportedly unaware of in an anecdote shared years later

Sistine Chapel (place) 2 — Vatican chapel where a user held hands with another woman during a sapphic relationship visit to Rome

Metrosexual (concept) 2 — Male beauty standard critiqued in Ben Shapiro's book for representing effeminate ideals like shaved pecs and bleached ha...

Katt Williams (person) 2 — Comedian whose special with a green suit and large belt buckle is praised as possibly the funniest comedy special ever m...

Andor (film) 2 — A Star Wars show defended by fans as being about revolution mechanics and inspired by Stalin's bank robbery and Castro, ...

Meditations (book) 2 — Stoic text read by self-improvement men who view it as a masculinity pill recommended by Instagram gurus

Post-Left (concept) 2 — A political tendency discussed within leftist circles that critiques traditional left-wing politics and organizing strat...

Body Positivity Movement (concept) 2 — Social movement theorized as a possible psyop by the junk food industry to make obesity seem empowering and normalize un...

Lil' Kim (person) 2 — Rapper and fashion icon discussed as a visionary who suffered abuse and was prevented from releasing her memoir, likely ...

Mo Bamba (album) 2 — 2018 hip-hop song referenced as a college party anthem that people would sing along to while being careful about cancela...

r/antinatalism (place) 2 — Reddit community dedicated to the philosophy that procreation is morally wrong, described as deeply depressing and nihil...

Nextdoor (place) 2 — Neighborhood social networking platform characterized by paranoid posts about suspicious people and crime.

Orange County (place) 2 — California location where a wealthy Republican relative views homelessness as the poor getting what they deserve.

Mormon (concept) 2 — A religion referenced by someone raised in it who became an atheist but found themselves experiencing supernatural feeli...

Pickleball (concept) 2 — Sport repeatedly dismissed as inferior to tennis and associated with 'dorks' in multiple posts about recreational activi...

Breaking Points (film) 2 — Political media show mentioned as part of an unusual cross-ideological coalition against Israel.

Wicked Part 2 (film) 2 — Musical film criticized for portraying fascism in cartoony, one-note fashion using military uniforms and magical printin...

Robert Putnam (person) 2 — Scholar discussed in relation to his analysis of narcissism and individualism through tracking usage of 'I' vs 'we' in 2...

LL Bean (place) 2 — Clothing retailer mentioned as platform where users can practice creative writing through product reviews

Freddie Mercury (person) 2 — Late lead singer of Queen and queer icon whose resemblance to a character in The Sopranos is seen as intentional symboli...

Barbados (place) 2 — Caribbean nation whose flag appeared in encyclopedias, remembered from childhood reading.

Boise (place) 2 — Idaho city described as distant from the Pacific Northwest indie music scene but home to Built to Spill.

Norwegian Wood (book) 2 — A Murakami novel featuring a quiet, intellectual, passive protagonist unlucky in love, used as an example of the 'sensit...

Rednote (place) 2 — Chinese social media platform where thousands of American girls are causing Chinese men to react strongly, discussed as ...