Red Scare Canon — Cultural References from the Subreddit

Tea Party (concept) 2 — Conservative political movement compared to Democratic protesters in terms of appearing kooky with bad signs and outfits...

Iggy Pop (person) 2 — Punk rock musician referenced as example of punk culture that wouldn't last in modern times

Edward Snowden (person) 2 — Whistleblower whose lack of pardon by Democrats is criticized as discouraging future whistleblowers in the Trump adminis...

Jamiroquai (album) 2 — British funk/acid jazz musician whose work is described as 'a copy of a copy, a referent twice removed' - English artist...

Virtual Insanity (album) 2 — A Jamiroquai song noted for its music video featuring distinctive dancing described as 'not actually dancing.'

Chomsky (person) 2 — Philosopher and linguist characterized as a social democrat in discussion about political ideology.

Credentialism (concept) 2 — The emphasis on academic credentials as a primary marker of qualification, criticized as contributing to academia's decl...

House M.D. (film) 2 — Medical television drama mentioned as formative childhood viewing with dark humor and transgressive themes.

Young Sheldon (film) 2 — Television show referenced as an example of time-wasting content people watch instead of doing basic tasks in person

Viet Cong (concept) 2 — Vietnamese guerrilla fighters referenced as model for hypothetical insurgent resistance against invasion

Robin Pecknold (person) 2 — Musician from Fleet Foxes who posted humbly on the subreddit about being compared to Joanna Newsom.

Will & Grace (film) 2 — TV show referenced as an example of LGBT representation from the last century.

Weston Price (person) 2 — Historical figure conjured from obscurity to become a philosophical father of the carnivore diet movement.

Aajonus Vonderplanitz (person) 2 — Historical figure conjured from obscurity to become a philosophical father of the carnivore diet movement.

NYT (place) 2 — Major American newspaper referenced alongside CNN as mainstream media outlet where consensus is forming against Democrat...

Brett Favre (person) 2 — NFL quarterback whose jersey is worn by a Warren supporter who refuses to wear Aaron Rodgers merchandise

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (film) 2 — Referenced in the context of electroconvulsive therapy, depicting it as a brutal treatment method for mental illness.

Chester Bennington (person) 2 — Late musician discussed as an example of someone who had fame, family, and money but couldn't escape childhood trauma an...

Planet Fitness (place) 2 — Gym chain mentioned as a place where running on the treadmill provided a mental health benefit similar to psychiatric me...

World War Z (film) 2 — Hollywood film cited as an example of Israeli government co-funding and influence to portray Israel positively.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (film) 2 — A film referenced in discussion of how online blocking allows people to erase others from their lives without confrontin...

Alamo Drafthouse (place) 2 — A chain movie theater showing David Lynch retrospective screenings plagued by performative audience laughter.

Music Box Theater (place) 2 — An indie theater in Chicago particularly notorious for audiences engaging in performative laughter during screenings.

Real Madrid (place) 2 — Spanish football club where Michael Owen played and struggled with routine changes, only leaving his hotel for training ...

Afterpay (concept) 2 — Buy now pay later service that has proliferated online retail, seen as predatory practice extracting consumer spending f...

Jen Psaki (person) 2 — Former White House Press Secretary that subreddit users allegedly find attractive, used as example of low male standards...

NorCal (place) 2 — Northern California region where boring software developer friend travels between with his nurse girlfriend.

Dodgers (place) 2 — Los Angeles baseball team with massive payroll that signed top free agent for $60 million annually, prompting prediction...

Thomas Crooks (person) 2 — Figure used as reference point for describing socially awkward male high school students in hypothetical gender-swap sce...

107 Days (book) 2 — Kamala Harris's memoir discussing her predictions about Trump's second term and private sector capitulation.

UT Austin (place) 2 — University where a quiz question allegedly asked which group is most likely to violate others' rights, with "wealthy whi...

Dave & Busters (place) 2 — Entertainment venue chain where a user experienced mass panic from a false active shooter alarm.

Robert Downey Jr. (person) 2 — Actor whose MCU films are singled out as exceptions to the generally poor quality of Marvel movies.

North Portland (place) 2 — Portland, Oregon neighborhood where a dramatic voting scene is described with BIPOC voters during the 2024 election.

Cyprus (place) 2 — Island nation in the Eastern Mediterranean mentioned as destination affected by Israel's GPS spoofing.

FaceTime (concept) 2 — Video calling service used by some people to maintain constant background contact for hours without meaningful interacti...

Skyler White (person) 2 — Character from Breaking Bad described as the definitively most hated character in the show's history, contrasted with Ca...

You've Got Mail (film) 2 — Romantic comedy film starring Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks, referenced as a movie made about the novelty of email.

Across the Universe (album) 2 — Beatles song that an autistic poster repeatedly played to the point of frustrating their girlfriend during a hyperfixati...

r/playboicarti (place) 2 — Reddit subreddit whose users are criticized for defending rap music on the Red Scare subreddit

Amyl and the Sniffers (album) 2 — Post-punk band criticized as part of a talk-singing microgenre that converts tweets into songs

Slacker (film) 2 — Film referenced as embodying the idea that creative types could move to cities and live cheaply while pursuing art.

Regina George (person) 2 — Fictional character from Mean Girls used to describe a cruel, bullying personality type exhibited by an extremely attrac...

Carrie & Lowell (album) 2 — A Sufjan Stevens album mentioned as music to listen to while grieving the loss of the author's mother.

Aesop (person) 2 — Ancient Greek fabulist whose story 'The Thief and His Mother' was told to the author by his late mother as a moral lesso...

Iberian Peninsula (place) 2 — European region referenced in comparison to American power outages, where blackouts allegedly involved more community so...

Morgan Freeman (person) 2 — Acclaimed actor now doing prescription drug commercials, described as "degrading himself" and representing celebrity fin...

Krebs Cycle (concept) 2 — Biochemical process used as example of objective scientific fact, contrasted with metaphysical questions being presented...

Davos (place) 2 — Swiss town hosting the World Economic Forum where Gavin Newsom called European leaders pathetic.

Phantom of the Opera (film) 2 — Musical/story referenced in discussion about the character being portrayed as the antagonist.