Red Scare Canon — Cultural References from the Subreddit

The Band (person) 4 — American-Canadian rock group mentioned as a possible third most essentially American band after Springsteen and CCR.

Pierre-Auguste Renoir (person) 4 — Impressionist painter whose work 'Luncheon of the Boating Party' (1881) is celebrated as one of the greatest Impressioni...

Duke (place) 4 — University cited as example of dramatically decreased acceptance rates alongside UCLA in college admissions discussion.

Trump Derangement Syndrome (concept) 4 — A term used to describe an excessive preoccupation with Donald Trump and politics, particularly among liberal-leaning in...

Mark Ames (person) 4 — Journalist and founder of muckraking Moscow newspaper who faced persecution from both U.S. and Russian governments

Shaun King (person) 4 — Activist whose racial identity is questioned, with discussion of whether rumors about him being white are far-right prop...

Cleopatra (person) 4 — Historical Egyptian figure cited as one reason for Ancient Egypt's greater popularity compared to Mesopotamia.

Albania (place) 4 — Country where a story of a wolf and donkey forming a trauma bond while in captivity took place

Dark Souls (film) 4 — A video game series mentioned as an example of games that consume significant amounts of time, with one player logging 1...

Theodore Roosevelt (person) 4 — Former US president featured in an Epic Rap Battles of History episode that inspired the author's career in filmmaking.

Gregg Araki (person) 4 — Filmmaker who criticized Euphoria for depicting teen life as miserable without joy, contrasting it with his own early wo...

Kids (film) 4 — 1995 film praised as 'damn good' featuring Chloe Sevigny as an inexperienced actress who delivered a stunning performanc...

Levi's (concept) 4 — Denim brand whose 501 jeans are now priced at around $80, prompting commentary on the rising cost of jeans.

Superman (film) 4 — A new superhero film featuring a meta-commentary scene about online criticism and the Snyderverse.

Hyperpop (concept) 4 — Music genre criticized as 'some of the worst music ever created' and associated with algorithm-driven social media rathe...

RBG (person) 4 — Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Supreme Court Justice mentioned as having controversial takes about Colin Kaepernick's kneeling pro...

Vermeer (person) 4 — Dutch master painter whose works were among those stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in 1990

Lauren Oyler (person) 4 — Writer and critic profiled for her critical opinions on contemporary culture, including Harvard, Israel, AOC, and intern...

Roadside Picnic (book) 4 — A science fiction novel that was adapted into a Tarkovsky film and is noted for its differences from the movie adaptatio...

Fergie (person) 4 — Singer from The Black Eyed Peas known for performing controversial lyrics in the original version of 'Let's Get It Start...

Warsaw (place) 4 — Polish capital city discussed in the context of corporate capitalism overwhelming local artisanal products.

Pablo Neruda (person) 4 — Chilean poet who wrote 'Ode to the Cat', a meditation on feline independence and mystery that explores themes of knowled...

Samuel Delany (person) 4 — Sci-fi author praised as the sole exception who can write good sex scenes, noted for writing gay content.

Daniel Johnston (person) 4 — Outsider musician known for his lo-fi recordings featuring weird voices, skits, organs, and low quality production, comp...

ACT (concept) 4 — Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, mentioned as one of several therapeutic approaches that proved ineffective for the po...

Deafheaven (album) 4 — A band that transitioned from black metal to shoegaze on their new album, described as 'pure shoegaze bliss.'

A Portrait of The Artist As a Young Man (book) 4 — Novel by James Joyce, referenced as inspiration for a writer planning to quit their job to write a similar work about au...

Philip Roth (person) 4 — American novelist whose biography was withdrawn by Norton after sexual abuse allegations against the biography's author ...

Charles Darwin (person) 4 — Scientist cited for positing that social emotions like guilt and pride evolved among social primates in a discussion abo...

Shania Twain (person) 4 — Country music artist referenced in a sarcastic critique of her song 'That Don't Impress Me Much' for dismissing accompli...

mid90s (film) 4 — Jonah Hill film portraying how kids acted in the 1990s, criticized online for use of slurs despite being accurate to the...

Catch-22 (book) 4 — Film praised as rare exception to the rule that all war films are exciting, encapsulating the disillusionment and confus...

The Piano Teacher (film) 4 — A film shot in cinema vérité style referenced as a superior approach to depicting a violent revenge narrative compared t...

Hypernormalisation (concept) 4 — A state where political theater becomes performative and empty, with participants aware they are not protesting to prote...

Rainer Maria Rilke (person) 4 — Poet who wrote Letters to a Young Poet, emphasizing solitude as essential for difficult work and human existence, and of...

Rian Johnson (person) 4 — Filmmaker who received $600 million from Netflix to make the Knives Out movies, cited as an example of questionable stre...

Joan Baez (person) 4 — Folk singer and activist discussed in relation to her relationship with Bob Dylan and song 'Diamonds and Rust'

Mark Ruffalo (person) 4 — Actor in Poor Things who is criticized for doing a Stewie Griffin-like voice throughout the film

Tyler Perry (person) 4 — A filmmaker whose work, specifically Diary of a Mad Black Woman, is referenced as a character comparison.

American Idol (film) 4 — Reality television singing competition show mentioned in connection with Kellie Pickler who was escorted by a mass shoot...

Syriana (film) 4 — A GWB-era film about oil, violence, and conspiracy that depicts the depravity of the Cheney administration's policies wi...

The Brian Jonestown Massacre (album) 4 — A 90s psych prog rock band praised as an ideal Red Scare band, led by the volatile Anton Newcombe who would fight audien...

Michael Parenti (person) 4 — Political theorist and leftist scholar who passed away at 92, whose 'Yellow Lecture' politically radicalized the poster ...

Under Armour (concept) 4 — Brand compared to another brand as being stereotypically associated with military and first responders aesthetic

Kyle MacLachlan (person) 4 — Actor in Blue Velvet whose character's romance with Laura Dern drew audience criticism at a Chicago screening.

Blowback (album) 4 — A podcast series with a highly acclaimed first season on the Iraq War, with subsequent seasons covering Afghanistan and ...

Law & Order (film) 4 — Long-running crime procedural TV series discussed in the context of its aging cast and the depressing permanence of acto...

Andrea Long Chu (person) 4 — Writer and critic whose work is discussed with skepticism regarding their Pulitzer-worthy status and perceived self-cent...

Isabella Rossellini (person) 4 — Actress and model featured in a 1987 Vanity Fair photo shoot with David Lynch.

The Wrestler (film) 4 — Film starring Mickey Rourke that The Last Showgirl is compared to, praised for having legitimate story and character dev...