Red Scare Canon — Cultural References from the Subreddit

Troye Sivan (person) 5 — Pop artist whose performance on the Sweat Tour is described as better than his co-star's, with good dancing and BTS-styl...

Great Recession (concept) 5 — Economic crisis referenced as a period when well-being measures should have declined but did not according to the Gallup...

Entourage (film) 5 — HBO television series discussed for its romanticization of toxic workplace behavior, specifically a scene where Ari fire...

George Eliot (person) 5 — Victorian author whose novel Middlemarch provides the epigraph quoted in A Hidden Life about unhistoric acts and hidden ...

Carrie Fisher (person) 5 — Actress whose 1983 appearance in Return of the Jedi is cited as an example of obsessive male fixation on specific film m...

Leonardo da Vinci (person) 5 — Renaissance artist whose Vitruvian Man is cited as representing ideal human proportions, specifically Mediterranean phen...

Chris Farley (person) 5 — A comedian and actor known for his physical comedy and charming performances as a jolly fat lead actor in Hollywood.

69 Love Songs (album) 5 — Triple album by The Magnetic Fields known for its length and varied styles, with discussions about cutting it down to 23...

How to with John Wilson (film) 5 — A New York-focused television show praised for capturing the early COVID-19 pandemic experience in spring 2020, with the...

Sky Ferreira (person) 5 — Musician whose song '24 Hours' is mentioned as being listened to during a late-night dancing session.

The Replacements (album) 5 — American alternative rock band referenced in connection with their 1985 song 'Waitress in the Sky', inspired by Paul Wes...

Neopets (concept) 5 — An early 2000s website where users could customize profiles with HTML, representing the nostalgic, untamed internet of c...

George H.W. Bush (person) 5 — Former U.S. President and WWII combat veteran, mentioned as a possible exception to post-Reagan presidents being desk wo...

The Trial (film) 5 — Kafka novel analyzed by Jameson as depicting the coexistence of modern corporate work life with archaic imperial legal b...

Nicolas Cage (person) 5 — Actor who stars in Pig as a hermit with a truffle pig, delivering the line 'I don't fuck my pig' and walking around cove...

Arca (person) 5 — Electronic musician who performed at Berghain's PAN15 party alongside Skrillex and other artists.

Stone Roses (album) 5 — UK indie band from working class backgrounds cited as example of class differences between British and American indie mu...

Johann Sebastian Bach (person) 5 — Classical composer whose organ compositions are referenced as an example of how the Internet enables deep aesthetic expl...

On the Road (book) 5 — Jack Kerouac novel that inspires reflection on whether hitchhiking across America is still feasible in modern low-trust ...

Ralph Waldo Emerson (person) 5 — American essayist and philosopher mentioned as part of literary knowledge that makes the author feel unrelatable to aver...

Jack Black (person) 5 — Actor and musician who suspended his band Tenacious D following his bandmate's controversial political comment

David Cross (person) 5 — Comedian whose show provided early millennial/late GenX brand of cynicism and negativity lacking in younger people

Interpol (album) 5 — A band the poster listened to on their iPod while wandering the countryside alone as a young person who didn't attend sc...

Janet Jackson (person) 5 — Singer whose comments about Kamala Harris's race reportedly made an impact on black voter perception of Harris's connect...

Pulp (album) 5 — UK indie band from working class backgrounds discussed as part of British indie music's working class origins

Laura Dern (person) 5 — Actress in Blue Velvet whose character's romantic interest in Kyle MacLachlan drew groans from the audience at a Chicago...

The Elementary Particles (book) 5 — Novel by Michel Houellebecq featuring the character Bruno, whose loneliness and relationship struggles resonate with rea...

Emily Dickinson (person) 5 — 19th-century American poet depicted as a "spunky girlboss genius" in the Apple TV show Dickinson, criticized for anachro...

Peter Pan (concept) 5 — A literary character and concept of eternal childhood used to describe Michael Jackson's personality and behavior.

Flannery O'Connor (person) 5 — An author celebrated for sophisticated artistry that serves as a 'lifeline' against contemporary cultural decline.

Mishima (person) 5 — Yukio Mishima, Japanese author and nationalist, referenced in context of his favorite bar in Tokyo.

Brothers Karamazov (book) 5 — A novel by Dostoevsky that the poster considered starting with before choosing Crime and Punishment.

212 (album) 4 — Music video by Azealia Banks that successfully parodied the stereotypical 2010s white inner-city gentrifier through visu...

1998 (concept) 4 — Year of the racist murder of James Byrd Jr. that inspired Christian Marclay's Guitar Drag artwork.

Burkina Faso (place) 4 — West African country referenced in a surreal workplace story about a coworker's doppelgänger replacement

El Salvador prison system (concept) 4 — Referenced in discussion about economic conditions and gang violence in El Salvador before current government.

Gaza City (place) 4 — City in Gaza mentioned in context of displacement from Jabalia to Al-Shifa Hospital.

Haka (concept) 4 — Traditional Māori cultural practice used in New Zealand parliament to protest threats to Indigenous rights, defended aga...

Che Guevara (person) 4 — Revolutionary icon invoked in contrast to Luigi Mangione as representing a type of cultural hero that no longer exists.

Garden State (film) 4 — Zach Braff film referenced for its iconic scene of discovering The Shins, used to describe someone's moment of musical d...

Nazbols (concept) 4 — National Bolsheviks, a fringe political ideology combining far-left and far-right elements, cited as example of incohere...

Industrial Revolution (concept) 4 — Historical period invoked to highlight the irony that the UK, where it began, can no longer produce its own steel.

Grimes (person) 4 — Musician and girlfriend to Elon Musk, criticized for living in poor conditions despite her partner's wealth.

Beto O'Rourke (person) 4 — Presidential candidate identified as Beto, criticized as a lost cause receiving disproportionate media attention compare...

IBS (concept) 4 — Irritable bowel syndrome discussed as a condition potentially linked to eating disorders and described as common among h...

GOP (concept) 4 — The Republican Party, accused of creating moral panics about children being groomed by teachers as a strategy to destroy...

Shen Yun (place) 4 — A Chinese performing arts company and touring show discussed as potentially being a money laundering scheme and mentione...

Freaks (film) 4 — 1932 Tod Browning horror film featuring circus performers, referenced in a satirical post about ugly girl experiences.

H.R. Giger (person) 4 — Swiss artist known for Alien designs, referenced in a satirical story about dying of fright upon seeing someone's face.

Peter Pan Syndrome (concept) 4 — A psychological condition referenced to describe a man in his 30s who avoids commitment and relationships while constant...