Red Scare Canon — Cultural References from the Subreddit

New York (place) 18 — City mentioned by evangelical as hosting a UN meeting to split Israel, which she believed would bring God's judgment.

Harry Styles (person) 18 — Pop musician whose gender-nonconforming fashion choices are contrasted negatively with Black artists as feeling corny an...

1999 (album) 17 — Prince album from 1984, mentioned as one of the parent's old tapes to play during a road trip in a 1992 Miata.

2011 (concept) 17 — Year referenced as a time when indie/EDM bands commonly used Alan Watts voice clips in their music.

Johnny Depp (person) 17 — Actor involved in a highly publicized defamation trial against Amber Heard that became a cultural phenomenon generating ...

Bluesky (place) 17 — A new social media platform discussed as being dominated by Twitter power users trying to reestablish their cliques rath...

Dead Internet Theory (concept) 17 — The theory that much of the internet consists of bot activity and algorithmically-driven content rather than genuine hum...

Arizona (place) 17 — State described as home to a specific type of outdoorsy pseudo-influencer who camps in southern Utah and northern Arizon...

John Mulaney (person) 17 — Professional stand-up comedian discussed in context of revisionism about his career being built on being a 'nice wife gu...

Zendaya (person) 17 — Actress in Dune criticized for making a 'stink face' and lacking chemistry with Timothée Chalamet despite being meant as...

Microsoft (place) 17 — Technology corporation criticized for forcing hardware obsolescence through Windows 11 requirements and representing bro...

North Korea (place) 17 — Discussed in a critical post pushing back against pro-North Korea sentiment, describing it as a faux-Agrarian dictatorsh...

Richard Nixon (person) 17 — Former U.S. president whose psychological profile as someone who 'believed he could accomplish anything, but that no acc...

Sally Rooney (person) 17 — An Irish writer mentioned as one of several world-class writers who came up through Ireland's indie writing scene and no...

Black Mirror (film) 17 — Popular anthology series referenced as an example of mainstream media people are constantly pressured to watch, contrast...

Steely Dan (album) 17 — Band cited as being below the radar enough to warrant a recent rediscovery, positioned between The Beatles/Rolling Stone...

Criterion (concept) 17 — A streaming service offering classic and contemporary films with a free two-week trial, where The Killing of a Chinese B...

Romania (place) 17 — A country described as having a weird cultural mix of Slavic, Italian, and Balkan influences with Orthodox spirituality ...

Nirvana (album) 17 — A grunge band that inspired intense teenage fandom, particularly on Tumblr in 2013, with members including Kurt Cobain a...

Quentin Tarantino (person) 17 — Acclaimed film director with 30+ year career criticized for insulting Paul Dano, described as having contrarian opinions...

Elliott Smith (person) 17 — Musician whose song 'Waltz #2' is praised for containing some of the greatest lyrics of all time, recommended as an intr...

Wes Anderson (person) 17 — Film director with a distinctive visual style that was widely imitated, discussed both positively for maintaining his un...

Gavin Newsom (person) 17 — California politician predicted to lose 2028 Democratic nomination due to his association with California homelessness a...

Plato (person) 17 — Ancient philosopher referenced mockingly when describing BookTok readers treating dark romance sex scenes as if they had...

King of the Hill (film) 17 — Animated TV show whose subreddit features weekly threads asking about Hank Hill's worst parenting decisions, which users...

Indonesia (place) 17 — One of the most populated countries in the world, with a large economy and rich history, discussed as being under-discus...

Bruce Springsteen (person) 17 — Musician whose core discography from E Street Shuffle to Born In the USA deals with the failure of the American Dream, d...

The Matrix (film) 17 — Film praised for its sincere commitment to being cool, with its edgy aesthetic, gay outfits, and self-serious atmosphere...

DNC (concept) 17 — The Democratic National Committee, discussed as part of the American resistance to being told what to do, with Trump's e...

Tokyo (place) 17 — Japanese capital city discussed for its urban design, lighting, variety of shops, public transportation, and aesthetic q...

Moscow (place) 17 — Russian capital city predicted to be the center of a smaller Russian State that would emerge from the potential fragment...

Taiwan (place) 17 — East Asian country praised for dense walkable cities, amazing street food, safety, and social cohesion but criticized fo...

Fiona Apple (person) 17 — Musician known for her controversial 'this world is bullshit' speech at the 1997 VMAs that the poster wishes Red Scare c...

Michel Foucault (person) 17 — French philosopher who used Bentham's Panopticon as a metaphor for surveillance and social control, though the poster ad...

Switzerland (place) 16 — Referenced in a conspiracy theory about Swiss neutrality and control, suggesting they profit from wars.

The Catcher in the Rye (book) 16 — A novel by J.D. Salinger discussed in the context of critiquing misreadings of the protagonist Holden Caulfield's charac...

Harry Potter (book) 16 — A popular fantasy book series mentioned as the only book a group of 8th-9th graders could name when asked about their re...

Instagram (place) 16 — Social media platform discussed as a space where men following models/pornstars is seen as a major dating red flag.

ChatGPT (concept) 16 — AI text generation tool described as useful for document creation but lacking character and essentially functioning as a...

Afghanistan (place) 16 — Referenced in context of the Afghanistan War withdrawal as a major news story competing for attention in short news cycl...

Vincent Gallo (person) 16 — Actor and filmmaker known for intense behavior, including a party anecdote where he correctly identified werewolves in a...

J.D. Vance (person) 16 — A Thiel-backed political candidate mentioned in discussions about American conservatism's uncomfortable relationship wit...

Jimmy Carter (person) 16 — Former U.S. president who claimed in a GQ interview to have used a psychic with the CIA to locate a downed plane in the ...

Portugal (place) 16 — European country noted in the discussion for having an increasing number of overweight children, compared to Tennessee i...

Tom Cruise (person) 16 — Actor praised for his longevity, skill acquisition, and success with the Mission: Impossible and Top Gun franchises desp...

WhatsApp (concept) 16 — Messaging platform criticized for enabling voice message communication, which is viewed as having zero perks and infinit...

Ryan Gosling (person) 16 — An actor whom a woman at a film festival considered too ugly to watch in movies, representing an extreme standard of att...

Alaska (place) 16 — U.S. state described as the poster's favorite place in the world, where they plan to work at a gift shop and write durin...

Greta Gerwig (person) 16 — Film director and actress associated with mumblecore films and mentioned in connection with potential return to Obama-er...

MSNBC (place) 16 — Cable news network frequently watched by Democratic-leaning viewers, referenced as the primary media consumption of a li...