Red Scare Canon — Cultural References from the Subreddit

Shogun (film) 1 — Award-winning television series praised for historical accuracy and Japanese representation that the poster finds overra...

CID (Seattle's Chinatown-International District) (place) 1 — Seattle neighborhood mentioned as having visible homelessness and drug use issues

Audrey Horne (person) 1 — Character from Twin Peaks that the poster fell in love with while watching the original series

Kyle Gordon (person) 1 — Artist who created the parody song 'We Will Never Die' mocking 2011-era hipster culture

Ironic Nostalgia (concept) 1 — Cultural phenomenon where people ironically mock a past era while secretly longing to return to those simpler times

The Hill We Climb (book) 1 — Book by Amanda Gorman exemplifying the liberal "the ___ we ___" title formula

The Light We Carry (book) 1 — Book by Michelle Obama following the liberal "the ___ we ___" title convention

The Truths We Hold (book) 1 — Book by Kamala Harris exemplifying the liberal "the ___ we ___" title pattern

Jeff Baena (person) 1 — Film director who committed suicide in early 2025, leaving behind works exploring themes that haunt the poster

I Heart Huckabees (film) 1 — Film directed by Jeff Baena whose themes the poster analyzes in relation to the director's suicide

Life After Beth (film) 1 — Film directed by Jeff Baena examined by a poster trying to understand the director's suicide

Horse Girl (film) 1 — Film directed by Jeff Baena whose themes are analyzed in relation to his eventual suicide

Cinema Toast (film) 1 — Series directed by Jeff Baena watched by a poster investigating the director's suicide

The Suburbs (album) 1 — Arcade Fire album tour that a commenter attended before becoming disillusioned with the band

Reflektor (album) 1 — Arcade Fire album tour that a commenter attended before becoming disillusioned with the band

Rough Trade Records (place) 1 — Record label that accidentally announced a new Pulp album after 24 years

Laquan McDonald (person) 1 — Person whose name appears in a possibly fabricated 2017 protest related to Amazon in Chicago

Elias Rodrigues (person) 1 — Suspect pictured at a protest in 2017 that may have never actually occurred

Pentecostal Christianity (concept) 1 — Branch of Christianity described as a cult by a poster who grew up in it and experienced childhood trauma.

Hans Niemann (person) 1 — Chess grandmaster whose reputation was destroyed by Magnus Carlsen's cheating accusations, allegedly partly because Niem...

Sinquefield Cup (concept) 1 — Chess tournament from which Magnus Carlsen dramatically withdrew after losing to Hans Niemann, implying cheating.

Hurling (concept) 1 — Irish sport mentioned in relation to Cork losing the All-Ireland championship for the second consecutive year.

Predator 2 (film) 1 — Lesser sequel in the Predator franchise that featured a xenomorph skull, credited with enabling future franchise crossov...

Mazda3 (concept) 1 — Car model that a poster keeps immaculate to honor his father's advice and impress a female coworker.

Sabrina (1954) (film) 1 — A 1954 film noted for its costume design, particularly a dress worn by a character with a ballerina body while waiting f...

Avey Tare (person) 1 — A founding member of Animal Collective who released early albums with Panda Bear and Geologist.

Panda Bear (person) 1 — A founding member of Animal Collective who also released solo work including a 1999 self-titled album.

Geologist (person) 1 — A member of Animal Collective who joined for albums starting with Danse Manatee in 2001.

Konnie Huq (person) 1 — A British TV presenter famous for her long stint on children's show Blue Peter, described as lovely and the first boyhoo...

Rupa Huq (person) 1 — British MP for Ealing Central and Acton and sister of Konnie Huq, also attended Cambridge but noted for less physical at...

Blue Peter (film) 1 — A British children's television show where Konnie Huq had a long-running stint as presenter.

Ealing Central and Acton (place) 1 — A British parliamentary constituency represented by MP Rupa Huq for ten years.

Paper Planes (album) 1 — A hit song by M.I.A. mentioned as part of her contribution to representing South Asian culture in the West.

Carlyle (place) 1 — Private equity firm mentioned as an entity that extracts funds from communities

CALPERS (place) 1 — California pension fund mentioned as an investor in private equity

Einstein (person) 1 — Famous physicist referenced as someone whose work a tech worker believes he is improving upon

San Diego State (place) 1 — University where a grandfather finished college on the GI Bill after serving in Vietnam

Royal Road (concept) 1 — Ancient Persian infrastructure project created to promote trade across the empire

Persians (concept) 1 — Ancient empire praised for its tolerant governance and protection of diverse subjects

World Health Organization (place) 1 — An international health organization that the USA recently left, possibly as part of American century of humiliation.

Skidmore (place) 1 — A college that homeschooled kids attend after taking a gap year WWOOFing in Romania.

Self-Care, A Novel (book) 1 — A novel by Leigh Stein described as a brutal exploration of girlboss aesthetic and woke capitalism, compared to Houelleb...

Leigh Stein (person) 1 — Author of Self-Care, A Novel, a critique of girlboss culture and woke capitalism

SGI (concept) 1 — Buddhist organization described as a cult that recruits through personal invitations, with dedicated recovery subreddits...

Internet Socialism (concept) 1 — Online political movement that Lauren Oyler believes is becoming tainted and uncool like feminism due to internet behavi...

Lucien (place) 1 — Restaurant mentioned by Lauren Oyler as a place she's never been but heard the food sucks

Andrei Tarkovsky: Interviews (book) 1 — Collection of interviews with Tarkovsky providing detailed explanations of his films and creative process

Strugatsky brothers (person) 1 — Russian authors who wrote the original novel that Stalker was based on

Phyllis Rooney (person) 1 — Author who wrote essay critiquing gendered metaphors and sex metaphor in reason

Mark Rapaport (person) 1 — Person who attended the premiere of The Scary of Sixty-First, described as very charming