Red Scare Canon — Cultural References from the Subreddit

Crimes of the Future (film) 2 — A Cronenberg film about surgery becoming the new sex and themes of bodily modification and environmental decay.

Laika (person) 2 — Stop-motion animation studio run by Travis Knight, son of Nike billionaire Phil Knight, that produces artistic films lik...

Miles Davis (person) 2 — Jazz musician considered by some as the greatest American musical artist, known for his extensive and genre-defining car...

White Plains (place) 2 — Suburban town in upstate New York described as having ugly cracked sidewalks that randomly ended, contrasted with walkab...

Bethesda (place) 2 — Video game company criticized for performative pride messaging in Western markets while staying silent in Russia and Mid...

Peloton (concept) 2 — An exercise bike brand whose users commit to hundreds of classes to get instructors to say funny names.

Platoon (film) 2 — Iconic Vietnam War film referenced as example of protest art that the War on Terror era failed to produce.

Sergio Leone (person) 2 — Director of westerns mentioned alongside Clint Eastwood as making films that improve the poster's mental health.

Quiet Quitting (concept) 2 — A workplace trend of doing the minimum required at one's job, parodied as 'quiet shitting' by spending work time on the ...

MensLib (concept) 2 — Progressive men's movement criticized for being run by geriatric Millennials whose attitudes are outdated for Zoomers

Bella Ramsey (person) 2 — Actor playing Ellie in The Last of Us HBO series, subject of meme edits and criticism in fan subreddit

Publix (place) 2 — Grocery store chain where a deli worker resembling Florence Pugh inspires reflections on romantic partner choices.

James Carville (person) 2 — A Democratic strategist who argued that the Party wrongly embraced radical slogans like 'abolish the police' and terms l...

Erowid (place) 2 — A website documenting psychoactive substances mentioned as part of the millennial coming-of-age experience.

Francisco Franco (person) 2 — Spanish fascist dictator admired alongside Mussolini by someone advocating for natural hierarchy and anti-democratic pol...

Central London (place) 2 — Area of London populated primarily by stylish Australian, New Zealand and European expats rather than British locals.

Miu Miu (place) 2 — Fashion brand associated with the aesthetic of coastal art girls who have shifted toward ironic intellectualism and Cath...

The Vagina Monologues (film) 2 — Performance piece that prompted reflection about how some women never see what their vaginas look like, contrasted with ...

Luke Combs (person) 2 — Country artist whose cover of 'Fast Car' sparked discourse about gatekeeping and race in country music.

Try That in a Small Town (album) 2 — A country song cited as an example of culturally polarizing music that represents one obnoxious side of the culture war.

Alexa Demie (person) 2 — Actress who plays Maddy in Euphoria, praised for allegedly lying about her age to get cast in the show.

Union Square (place) 2 — New York City location where comedian Stav was spotted multiple times, possibly living or working in the area.

Herodotus (person) 2 — Ancient Greek historian referenced for his chiasmus style of composition, compared to Nick Mullen's nested tangents.

Physiognomy (concept) 2 — The study of facial features and bone structure to identify ethnic or national origins, discussed as an observable pheno...

Gregor Samsa (person) 2 — Protagonist of Kafka's Metamorphosis, referenced ironically in a list of cultural references a date failed to understand...

Das Kapital (book) 2 — Karl Marx's foundational work of political economy that Stalin reportedly read as a hand-transcribed version at age 13 i...

Crypto (concept) 2 — Cryptocurrency technology compared to AI, NFTs, and the Metaverse as another Silicon Valley pyramid scheme to maintain i...

Raytheon (place) 2 — Defense contractor referenced as contemporary shorthand for corporate evil, similar to how Twinkies represented unhealth...

A-Levels (concept) 2 — British post-GCSE qualifications where students study three to four subjects full-time for two years to gain university ...

r/Singularity (place) 2 — A subreddit focused on AI and technological singularity, criticized for techno-utopianism and worship of tech billionair...

r/art (place) 2 — A Reddit art community that only reaches the front page when posts follow Reddit-approved characteristics.

Sugar Ray (person) 2 — Late 90s alt-rock band whose song 'Fly' is discussed as a guilty pleasure excluded from poptimist re-evaluation.

Celine Dion (person) 2 — Pop singer whose work receives poptimist re-evaluation as profound despite being silly pop songs.

Be Here Now (book) 2 — Book referenced in context of a self-proclaimed healer's aesthetic choices, specifically mentioned as having a stick-and...

Samuel Alito (person) 2 — Supreme Court justice who compared Roe v. Wade to Plessy v. Ferguson in his opinion overturning abortion rights.

Lea Seydoux (person) 2 — Actress mentioned as appropriate content for the subreddit to post hot photos of

CashApp (concept) 2 — A digital payment platform mentioned alongside Venmo as facilitating online panhandling behavior among people who don't ...

Simon and Garfunkel (album) 2 — Musical duo that released progressively better albums culminating in Bridge Over Troubled Water before splitting up.

City of London (place) 2 — A district in London described as having dark, sickening black aura and bad mojo, accidentally visited when getting off ...

Pam Grier (person) 2 — Actress referenced as a physical comparison point for a Fijian woman.

Madagascar (place) 2 — Country mentioned as location of dwindling vanilla bean farms facing extinction.

Lady Macbeth (person) 2 — Shakespeare character referenced sarcastically as 'Dr. Lady Macbeth' in connection to Biden's wife and the 2024 politica...

Richard Pryor (person) 2 — Legendary comedian referenced by the author claiming his stand-up performance made him feel like "Richard Pryor risen fr...

Cake (album) 2 — Band whose singer has a flat delivery within a limited range, but is still competent unlike the polyamorous party perfor...

University of Toronto (place) 2 — Canadian university where international students are reportedly upset about lack of bidets in washrooms

Louise Perry (person) 2 — Public figure known for anti-sex beliefs, discussed as attractive in context of those beliefs.

BAM (person) 2 — Twitter figure referenced by Anna Khachiyan during a debate on the sexual revolution (possibly related to Bronze Age Min...

Valium (concept) 2 — Benzodiazepine medication stolen from a prison medical unit, with the author using it recreationally on their way home f...

Nobuhiko Obayashi (person) 2 — Japanese filmmaker whose Kenya Boy is described as the most insane entry in his filmography.

HAUSU (film) 2 — Japanese film by Nobuhiko Ōbayashi referenced in discussion of his later work Tenkôsei.