Red Scare Canon — Cultural References from the Subreddit

Notes from a Native Son (book) 1 — Essay collection by James Baldwin found among Penguin Classics at Gatwick airport

Tove Ditlevsen (person) 1 — Danish author whose works were found among Penguin Classics at Gatwick airport

Otaku (concept) 1 — Japanese term for obsessive fans who collect every piece of merchandise from a series, now compared to Western media con...

r/rswritingclub (place) 1 — Red Scare-affiliated writing subreddit created for users to post their writing, ask for critique, and participate in con...

Ovarit (place) 1 — Online forum mentioned as an alternative destination for disgruntled subreddit users.

Vincent D'Onofrio (person) 1 — Actor referenced for his performance in Men in Black where his character drinks sugar water.

James Marsters (person) 1 — Actor from Buffy the Vampire Slayer discussed in terms of his distinctive facial structure resembling buccal fat removal...

Sound of Metal (film) 1 — Film referenced in connection with losing hearing as a musician

Misophonia (concept) 1 — Online affectation of claiming hypersensitivity to sounds like chewing, criticized as a Tumblr-originated pretension

Vibram FiveFingers (concept) 1 — Toe shoes worn by highly-paid tech worker nicknamed 'Toes' in essay about tech industry privilege

Mennonites (concept) 1 — Religious community whose men staff a rural volunteer fire station

Operation Barbarossa (concept) 1 — Nazi Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union that Stalin failed to anticipate despite numerous intelligence warnings, res...

Russian Civil War (concept) 1 — Conflict that the West allegedly meddled in and prolonged, leading to Soviet paranoia

Janeane Garofalo (person) 1 — Comedian and actress described as hot in her own way and appearing in a Seinfeld episode, likely pursued by male comics ...

Teen Wolf (film) 1 — TV series that a nearly 30-year-old man has tattoos and shirts of while calling himself an alpha.

Collective Unconscious (concept) 1 — Concept invoked in discussion about the lack of contemporary artistic commentary on modern social issues like school sho...

Paula's Choice (place) 1 — Skincare brand whose retinol product is being considered for unconventional use by a poster.

S.A.S (place) 1 — British Special Air Service special forces unit that a poster wanted to join as a teenager after playing Call of Duty.

Devon Aoki (person) 1 — Model and actress mentioned as an example of acceptable nepotism in entertainment industry.

Adrian Chiles (person) 1 — British television presenter mentioned as an example of acceptable nepotism.

Lincoln Park (place) 1 — Chicago neighborhood and park area praised for its lakeside chess pavilion and summer atmosphere.

Jamie Foxx (person) 1 — Actor discussed in context of mysterious health issues and conspiracy theories

Hustler's University (place) 1 — An online program associated with Andrew Tate, sarcastically referenced by people who claim self-education superiority o...

Bob Lee (person) 1 — Cash App founder whose murder was connected to a San Francisco tech swinger sex cult called 'The Lifestyle'.

The Lifestyle (concept) 1 — A San Francisco swinger sex cult reportedly involving tech elites engaging in drug-fueled orgies.

Bell Curve Meme (concept) 1 — An internet meme depicting how people of different intelligence levels arrive at the same conclusion through different r...

W.S. Merwin (person) 1 — A poet whose collection The Lice is kept on a subreddit user's nightstand.

Lemon Market (concept) 1 — An economic concept describing markets with information asymmetry, applied to dating markets where 'lemons' (problematic...

Phil Ochs (person) 1 — A 1960s folk singer whose criticism of white liberals is referenced by modern activists attempting to justify their posi...

Dr. K (person) 1 — Online therapist frequently cited by proponents of therapy culture

Hot Ones (film) 1 — YouTube show mentioned in discussion of favorite websites

Clarks (place) 1 — Shoe store where the poster found the only normal-looking shoe among contemporary footwear options

Battle of Omdurman (concept) 1 — An 1898 battle in Sudan described by Churchill as 'the most signal triumph ever gained by the arms of science over barba...

Mike Brown (person) 1 — Figure whose story was part of the Black Lives Matter movement before 2020, though many people misremember BLM as starti...

NML (film) 1 — Norm Macdonald's talk show considered his best creation by fans.

Knoxville (place) 1 — City listed as off the table by a drifter seeking recommendations for their next destination.

Julia Ernst (person) 1 — Figure who was exposed for making posts about herself on her own snark Reddit page.

Miles Teller (person) 1 — Actor referenced in discussion of Whiplash's portrayal of jazz drumming as unrealistic compared to actual music educatio...

Luis J Gomez (person) 1 — Comedian mentioned as joking with Nick Mullen about dating a 19-year-old.

Kodak Black (person) 1 — Rapper cited as an exemplar of the gangbanger archetype in contemporary rap music.

Louisiana State (place) 1 — State university whose predominantly Black women's basketball team is discussed as villains in a racialized college bask...

West Africa (place) 1 — Region referenced as the origin of an immigrant mother who drinks heavily every night.

Abilify (concept) 1 — An antipsychotic medication discussed in the context of severe weight gain side effects.

Zyprexa (concept) 1 — An antipsychotic medication discussed in the context of severe weight gain side effects.

Rexulti (concept) 1 — An antipsychotic medication discussed in the context of severe weight gain side effects.

California Sober (concept) 1 — A sobriety approach that excludes alcohol but permits marijuana use, celebrated by someone marking 100 days without drin...

Two Weeks (album) 1 — Song by FKA Twigs that inspired an impulse to build a temple for the artist.

Pestilence (album) 1 — Song by King Plague that the poster has been waking up to.

Eternal Silence (album) 1 — Song by King Plague described as the poster's first favorite from the artist.

Pangea (concept) 1 — First supercontinent mentioned in a satirical post about historical literacy among parasites.