Red Scare Canon — Cultural References from the Subreddit

Mao Zedong (person) 12 — Chinese communist leader referenced in context of closing borders, erecting firewalls, and removing landlords as increas...

Werner Herzog (person) 12 — Filmmaker criticized as a pretentious pseudointellectual after his dismissive characterization of chickens as stupid was...

Marvin Gaye (person) 12 — Soul singer who was shot and killed by his own father in 1984, with final words suggesting he orchestrated his own death

Finland (place) 12 — Nordic country that had a tradition where marriageable girls wore empty sheaths for potential suitors to fill with knive...

Columbia University (place) 12 — University where a peaceful student encampment protesting Israel-Palestine was held, which the poster describes as incre...

Oregon (place) 12 — A U.S. state mentioned as a hiking destination in a fantasy scenario about traveling with a terminally ill girlfriend.

Lou Reed (person) 12 — A musician referenced as a cultural icon whose aesthetic of leather jackets, experimental guitar, and relationships with...

The Weeknd (person) 12 — Mainstream rapper and R&B artist who was a dominant figure in 2016 and remained a top figure through 2025 despite being ...

Selena Gomez (person) 12 — A celebrity criticized extensively for allegedly being untalented, obsessed with Justin Bieber, manipulative, and hypocr...

Berkeley (place) 12 — California city discussed as an example of gentrification, where unique cultural spaces like record stores and music ven...

Office Space (film) 12 — 1999 satirical film about corporate office culture, referenced as a model for what a contemporary version about current ...

Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (person) 12 — German philosopher referenced as an example of difficult reading that functionally illiterate redditors claim to have un...

Postmodernism (concept) 12 — Philosophical movement mentioned as part of intellectual credentials that helped establish rapport on a date, specifical...

F. Scott Fitzgerald (person) 12 — American novelist whose romantic pursuit of Zelda (the Zussy) is invoked as inspiration for the male urge to write the g...

Swans (album) 12 — Band whose song "Stay Here" is described as a terrible karaoke choice due to its aggressive vocals that work poorly whet...

Shakespeare (person) 12 — William Shakespeare, canonical playwright and poet, noted as absent from California's new reading list

Anthony Fauci (person) 12 — Public health official criticized for initially lying about face mask efficacy during COVID-19, which the author suggest...

Slovenia (place) 12 — European country mentioned as the location where a realist oil painter's Stations of the Cross with contemporary Sloveni...

Delicious Tacos (person) 12 — Blogger and Twitter personality who wrote controversial content about attraction to minors and has tried rebranding as a...

George Washington (person) 12 — American Founding Father and slaveholder whose statues were debated for removal in an intro history class, with about ha...

Twin Peaks: The Return (film) 12 — David Lynch television series whose Part 8 features a controversial nuclear bomb segment that has been interpreted as re...

Hayao Miyazaki (person) 12 — Japanese animator and director known for films with phenomenal artwork, tender depictions of human moments, and reverenc...

The Substance (film) 12 — Film by a European director critiquing Hollywood, discussed as stylish but hollow compared to Verhoeven's satirical work...

Zoloft (concept) 12 — An SSRI antidepressant discussed by a user who took it for 9 months to manage severe anxiety and intrusive thoughts, des...

David Berman (person) 12 — Musician who created the Purple Mountains album and later died by suicide, mourned for his mix of humor, depression and ...

Animal Collective (album) 12 — An experimental music group whose early years (1996-2003) included albums like Spirit They're Gone, Spirit They've Vanis...

The Culture of Narcissism (book) 12 — Academic social criticism work by Christopher Lasch about narcissism in Western society, discussed as reading material t...

Crime and Punishment (book) 12 — Classic novel mentioned as a candidate for multi-volume pocket book edition to make it easier to read than massive curre...

Ingmar Bergman (person) 11 — Swedish film director invoked as an example of high culture in contrast to Marvel movies in a satirical post about subre...

Titanic (concept) 11 — Referenced in a conspiracy theory about the real Titanic never sinking and being swapped with its sister ship the Olympi...

Long Covid (concept) 11 — Persistent post-viral syndrome following COVID infection causing fatigue, heat intolerance, cognitive issues, and exerci...

Airbnb (concept) 11 — A short-term rental platform mentioned in the context of neighbors illegally renting out apartments, with threats of pla...

Matt Damon (person) 11 — Actor who was allegedly contacted by Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds to endorse Blake's final cut of a film.

Emma Stone (person) 11 — Actress praised for her performance in Poor Things, described as doing an absurdly out-of-human performance playing a to...

Kentucky (place) 11 — State experiencing tragedy with deaths and homelessness, with poster criticizing liberals celebrating the suffering of i...

Adele (person) 11 — A singer with exceptional technical vocal ability who is contrasted with Lana Del Rey as having a profoundly incredible ...

Auschwitz (place) 11 — Nazi concentration and extermination camp liberated by Soviet forces in 1945, as recounted in historical testimony about...

r/teachers (place) 11 — Subreddit characterized as the number one place for abject hatred of children, where teachers supposedly give extreme ad...

Sailor Socialism (person) 11 — Video featuring memorable quotes like 'heard of it', 'worms in brain', 'sips coffee', and 'uh i don't really wanna do th...

Bosnia (place) 11 — Balkan country proposed as setting for a Sopranos-style mafia show featuring cultural elements and conflicts between Ser...

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (film) 11 — Comedy TV show referenced for its character Mac who constantly imagines action movie scenarios of fighting off attackers...

23andMe (concept) 11 — Genetic testing company referenced in dating app context as containing private genetic information partners wouldn't hav...

Bradley Cooper (person) 11 — Actor and director whose recent projects about gay icons and history of relationships with women have led to speculation...

MAGA (concept) 11 — Political movement associated with Donald Trump, discussed in the context of supporters' reactions to a fatal ICE incide...

Pablo Picasso (person) 11 — Twentieth-century artist whose oeuvre is described as all-encompassing, with work spanning from Blue Period to Fellini c...

FDR (person) 11 — American president associated with the New Deal, referenced as an example of when ruling classes understood they had to ...

Emily Ratajkowski (person) 11 — Model and podcast host criticized for creating content described as 'Red Scare for obnoxious feminists' featuring wealth...

Barcelona (place) 11 — A Spanish football club involved in one of the most intense rivalries in world soccer with Real Madrid, described as an ...

Venmo (concept) 11 — A digital payment platform criticized as enabling a new form of entitled online panhandling by middle and upper-middle c...

boygenius (album) 11 — Indie music supergroup that ascended from indie label Matador to major label Interscope, representing the evolution of i...