Red Scare Canon — Cultural References from the Subreddit

WandaVision (film) 3 — A Marvel television show criticized for having a groan-worthy storyline outside the sitcom framework with stereotypical ...

Swann's Way (book) 3 — A novel by Marcel Proust, ranked as the author's top favorite novel in their personal ranking.

Journey to the End of the Night (book) 3 — A novel by Louis-Ferdinand Céline, ranked as the fourth favorite novel in the author's personal ranking.

Eli (person) 3 — Anna Khachiyan's boyfriend referenced in subreddit posts questioning when he would propose.

Babylon (place) 3 — A film by Damien Chazelle about 1920s Hollywood that was critically panned in this post for being overly loud and repeti...

NSA (place) 3 — The National Security Agency, discussed as part of the surveillance state that collects data but allegedly fails to prev...

Godzilla Minus One (film) 3 — Japanese Godzilla film praised as both a terrifying monster movie and phenomenal period drama about PTSD and survivor's ...

Current Affairs (place) 3 — Leftist magazine edited by Nathan Robinson that allegedly has zero professional standards after an editor threatened to ...

Mikhail Bulgakov (person) 3 — Author of The Master & Margarita, whose novel was not published until 26 years after his death.

The Master & Margarita (book) 3 — Novel by Mikhail Bulgakov read by the Red Scare Book Club exploring themes of state oppression and dignity

Misogynoir (concept) 3 — Academic term combining misogyny and noir to describe specific anti-black woman prejudice, compared to Latinx as overly ...

Hunter Schafer (person) 3 — Actress and trans figure mentioned positively in discussion of the subreddit's reception

Phil Elverum (person) 3 — A musician who created The Glow Pt 2 album, praised for making loneliness and longing palatable and for turning personal...

Sonny Angel (concept) 3 — Little kewpie-style figurines that look like cute cherubs, discussed as the focus of a Facebook group meetup where a wom...

Warby Parker (place) 3 — Eyewear brand used as shorthand for millennial media class aesthetics in critique of mainstream journalists covering edg...

Blogspot (place) 3 — Older blogging platform praised for allowing more individuality and personal web design compared to modern platforms lik...

Katsushika Hokusai (person) 3 — Japanese artist whose erotic work 'Dream of the Fisherman's Wife' from 1814 is featured in a collection of aquatic anima...

Dazed Digital (place) 3 — Publication that wrote an article titled "RIP Dasha Nekrasova: an edgelord death by cringe."

John Wilson (person) 3 — Filmmaker and creator of 'How to with John Wilson', praised for his depiction of New York City and the early COVID-19 pa...

The Big Short (film) 3 — Film starring Ryan Gosling and Steve Carell about shorting stocks and the 2008 financial crisis, humorously cited as edu...

Jenny Holzer (person) 3 — Artist known for her Truisms series and work in the Lower East Side during 1978-1983, praised for her contribution to Ne...

r/wallstreetbets (place) 3 — Reddit community that experienced a decline in quality after rapid growth during the GameStop story, used as an analogy ...

William T. Vollmann (person) 3 — Author who smoked crack with desperate people while researching his books to better empathize with his subjects, describ...

McSweeney's (place) 3 — Publisher of 'tedious gen-x irony' that undertook the heroic project of publishing William T. Vollmann's 7-volume Rising...

Howard University (place) 3 — University criticized by Cornel West and Jeremy Tate for removing its Classics department, described as 'a spiritual cat...

Harvey Milk (person) 3 — Gay rights activist whose work achieved actual liberation, contrasted with corporate rainbow-washing criticized in gay s...

Dumbo (place) 3 — Disney classic film removed from the kids filter with a content warning due to dated or offensive content.

David Chang (person) 3 — Chef who was the recipient of a statement by Anthony Bourdain mentioned in a documentary

Deathconsciousness (album) 3 — Album referenced as ideal listening music for aimless late-night drives through one's hometown during the holidays.

Joseph Campbell (person) 3 — Author whose book a Reddit user keeps in their glove compartment for solitary Saturday morning reading sessions

Al Pacino (person) 3 — Actor who played Tony Montana in Scarface, noted for his shorter stature not being hidden by the film's framing.

Canon AE1 (concept) 3 — Film camera model mentioned nostalgically in connection with living in Ithaca.

Sean Baker (person) 3 — Film director who won Best Picture Oscar for Anora, though the author believes Florida Project was the superior work.

The Purge (film) 3 — Film referenced to describe apocalyptic scenarios women are discussing online about male neighbors committing violence

David Letterman (person) 3 — Late night television host whose old bits remain entertaining compared to current programming.

Amanda Knox (person) 3 — American woman who was tried and acquitted in Italy for murder, subject of a new drama series that depicts the Italian j...

Sufism (concept) 3 — Mystical Islamic tradition whose prayer circles the poster found hypnotizing and impressive in their devotional practice...

Limp Bizkit (album) 3 — Nu-metal band defended as actually good and compared to Fugazi for people who don't take themselves too seriously

1619 Project (concept) 3 — Educational curriculum about race and American history being widely taught in high schools, contrasting with claims that...

Grouper (person) 3 — Minimalist musician referenced as an example of what someone is not looking for in a music recommendation

Old Testament (book) 3 — Ancient Hebrew scriptures mentioned in the context of craft and writing, with the hypothetical that teaching craft to it...

Irony poisoning (concept) 3 — A cultural phenomenon where excessive cynicism and layers of irony prevent people from being genuine or vulnerable, blam...

St. Petersburg (place) 3 — Major Russian city that would serve alongside Moscow as a center of a smaller Russian State after potential federation c...

Sofia (place) 3 — Bulgarian capital city praised for beautiful women by a poster relocating from Bucharest

Vulture (place) 3 — Entertainment news and criticism website referenced for publishing over-interpreted political readings of television sho...

Caracas (place) 3 — Capital of Venezuela discussed as potential destination for Western travelers after political changes.

Khruangbin (album) 3 — Band whose live performance was criticized as monotonous and underwhelming, with audience energy focused more on the bas...

Myrtle Beach (place) 3 — South Carolina beach town mentioned in parody of Beatles' Yellow Submarine referencing Chinese spy balloon

Jay Reatard (person) 3 — Musician referenced in a suggestion to use 'reatard' instead of 'regard' as slang, with 'RIP Jay' indicating the artist'...

Ed Gein (person) 3 — Historical figure who is the subject of a controversial new Ryan Murphy television show that discusses gender dysphoria ...