Red Scare Canon — Cultural References from the Subreddit

Individuation (concept) 1 — Jungian concept describing the process of becoming oneself through giving oneself to something else.

Lucifer Sheartail (concept) 1 — Hummingbird species (Calothorax lucifer) mentioned as a favorite bird.

Durban (place) 1 — South African city referenced in connection with apartheid-era racial segregation at beaches in 1989.

California Dreamin' (album) 1 — Song referenced as an example of emotionally cathartic tracks with epic choruses that make life feel epic.

Let The Sunshine In (album) 1 — Song referenced as an example of emotionally cathartic tracks with epic choruses that make life feel epic.

Peter Doherty (person) 1 — Musician who resurfaced from obscurity to perform an eating challenge involving a big breakfast

Paul-Albert Besnard (person) 1 — French painter and printmaker whose illustrations include works like 'Charitable,' 'Cast of a net,' 'After the visit,' a...

National Gallery of Art (place) 1 — Art museum website where illustrations by Paul-Albert Besnard can be browsed

Flogging Molly (album) 1 — Band whose music plays in a funeral home while the narrator works near decomposed corpses

Helplessness Blues (album) 1 — Fleet Foxes song about preferring to be a functioning cog in machinery rather than a unique individual

Skinny Puppy (album) 1 — Industrial band whose 2023 concert featured Ogre performing with a narrative structure and attracted an aging goth crowd

The Doom Generation (film) 1 — Film whose first segment is evoked as comparison to the atmosphere at a Skinny Puppy concert

A Harlot's Progress (book) 1 — Serial artwork by William Hogarth depicting a humorous narrative.

The Four Stages of Cruelty (book) 1 — Serial artwork by William Hogarth examining casual cruelty in 18th century society.

Marriage à-la-mode (book) 1 — Serial artwork by William Hogarth offering timely critique between taste and gaudy preening.

McCann Erickson (place) 1 — Advertising agency from Mad Men that Don Draper leaves.

Days of Our Lives (film) 1 — Long-running soap opera that the poster's grandmother watched and the poster is interested in following.

Guiding Light (film) 1 — Long-running soap opera that the poster's grandmother watched and the poster is interested in following.

Barbara Stanwyck (person) 1 — Actress whose biography the poster is working through during work breaks.

The Turn of the Screw (book) 1 — Book purchased by the poster as part of their effort to read more during work breaks.

Golden Girls (film) 1 — Classic TV sitcom that was the subject of a fake remake poster featuring Tina Fey and Amy Poehler.

Nothing (person) 1 — Well-established North American shoegaze band mentioned as part of the genre's resurgence

They Are Gutting A Body of Water (person) 1 — Band offering new radical interpretations of the shoegaze genre

Full Body 2 (person) 1 — Band offering new radical interpretations of the shoegaze genre

Mounjaro (concept) 1 — Weight loss prescription medication used by someone recovering from bulimia to lose weight gained after treatment

Bulimia (concept) 1 — Severe eating disorder discussed by a law school graduate who spent time in treatment centers and later gained weight

Mass Market Paperback (concept) 1 — Pocket-sized book format (7" by 4.25") that is no longer widely published but ideal for comfortable reading in various v...

Samsung Galaxy (concept) 1 — Phone referenced in satirical post about fighting Mexican cartels

Kafka trapping (concept) 1 — Rhetorical technique where denial of an accusation is used as evidence of guilt, described as satisfying by someone who ...

James Blunt (person) 1 — Adult contemporary musician emblematic of a 2000s-era middle-class adult aesthetic and lifestyle.

Stimming (concept) 1 — Self-stimulatory behavior associated with autism that has become popularized in self-diagnosis discourse, applied to com...

Tommy Hilfiger (person) 1 — Fashion brand referenced ironically in discussion about immigration and infrastructure needs.

Psychic Warfare (concept) 1 — Psychological terrorism and propaganda tactics allegedly employed during the 2024 election cycle to manipulate voters th...

Better Business Bureau (place) 1 — Organization where complaints about Neko Cat Cafe's harassment and unethical practices were filed.

Dr. Fauci (person) 1 — Public health official who coincidentally contracted West Nile Virus when only 216 cases existed in the US, prompting co...

West Nile Virus (concept) 1 — Rare infectious disease with only 216 US cases at time of discussion, one of which was Dr. Fauci.

China Pictorial (place) 1 — Chinese publication from August 1950 that featured paper tiger propaganda representation of the United States

Frodo (person) 1 — Character from The Lord of the Rings discussed in Tolkien's writings on moral failure and mercy.

Nature Communications (place) 1 — Academic journal cited for publishing research on Mars's gravitational effects on Earth.

Dow Jones (concept) 1 — Stock market index analyzed for correlation with Mars's orbital position.

Matti Pitknen (person) 1 — Finnish theoretical physicist who referenced research on Mars's influence on stock markets.

JBS (place) 1 — Brazilian multinational meat processing company criticized for exploiting immigrant labor in slaughterhouses.

BBC News Pidgin (place) 1 — BBC news service in West African Pidgin English found humorous by readers.

Soyjak (concept) 1 — Wojak variant meme that evolved into absurdist variants and original characters.

Game Boy Advance (concept) 1 — Nintendo handheld console referenced in absurdist soyjak meme description.

Lean In (book) 1 — Referenced as an example of establishment feminism that is not truly transgressive, compared to Red Scare's positioning ...

Voice of America (place) 1 — U.S. government broadcasting service that operated for over 80 years, including during WW2, facing shutdown under Trump ...

I Don't Like (album) 1 — Chief Keef song described as a banger manifesto about everything that failed him in his youth.

Hate Bein Sober (album) 1 — Chief Keef song described as technically a party track but really about his inability to face life straight.

Citgo (album) 1 — Chief Keef track where he drops his bravado and just sounds tired and done, showing emotional vulnerability.