Red Scare Canon — Cultural References from the Subreddit

Lois Weber (person) 2 — Director of the 1916 silent film Shoes, praised for creating a beautiful and spare work.

Harlan Ellison (person) 2 — Science fiction author who famously hated the term 'science-fiction writer' and was known for explosive personality, wit...

I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream (book) 2 — Story by Harlan Ellison that became popular on YouTube and TikTok, reigniting interest in the author.

Scooby Doo: Mystery Inc. (film) 2 — Animated TV show in which Harlan Ellison had a cameo appearance.

Tucker Max (person) 2 — Author and personality compared to Andrew Tate as someone who would have been his predecessor in an earlier internet era...

Northern California (place) 2 — Region experiencing extended preventative power shutoffs and infrastructural challenges

Golgotha (place) 2 — Biblical site of crucifixion used metaphorically to describe impound lots where towed cars are taken.

Transatlantic Accent (concept) 2 — A historically cultivated accent that a poster suggests should make a comeback in public schools along with cursive writ...

Dhammapada (book) 2 — Buddhist scripture being read by a poster attempting spiritual practice focused on pelvic floor exercises and celibacy.

Bülent Ersoy (person) 2 — A trans woman who is one of the most celebrated icons in Turkish history, referred to as 'Diva' even in a country with i...

Chinua Achebe (person) 2 — Nigerian author of Things Fall Apart, representing African literature that the poster discovered through Mountain Goats ...

Things Fall Apart (book) 2 — Novel by Chinua Achebe described as a quick read and the poster's first taste of African literature

Marriage Story (film) 2 — A film that caused the poster to cry throughout on a date night, requiring comfort from their partner of only two weeks

Willa Cather (person) 2 — Author quoted on happiness as being dissolved into something complete and great, in a discussion about caffeine and mean...

Ctrl (album) 2 — Album by SZA described as the least controversial album ever, played at a social gathering.

REM (person) 2 — American rock band whose music video for Losing My Religion is praised for its cinematography and religious iconography

Losing My Religion (album) 2 — REM music video praised for its beautiful costumes, religious and literary iconography, and editing

Eating disorder (concept) 2 — Mental health condition discussed as embarrassing and sad to have past a certain age

Helmut Newton (person) 2 — Photographer whose aesthetic is aspirational to a poster who wants their life to resemble his photos

Miracle (film) 2 — Film featuring Herb Brooks that moves an emotional viewer to tears during the scene where Herb cries backstage after win...

Basic Instinct (film) 2 — A Paul Verhoeven film reductively described as being about Sharon Stone having a vagina.

The Parrots of Telegraph Hill (film) 2 — A documentary that was being shown in restored form at a small indie theater.

Man Ray (person) 2 — Photographer and surrealist artist known for both his rayographs and more traditional photographic work.

Yuri Norstein (person) 2 — Filmmaker whose work is cited as an example of beautiful animation, in contrast to soulless contemporary shows.

Loretta Lynn (person) 2 — Country music singer admired by a poster who expresses being fully smitten with her.

Elvanse (concept) 2 — ADHD medication mentioned alongside weight loss and eating disorder, with a doctor noting it as 'basically speed.'

Paris Syndrome (concept) 2 — Psychological condition characterized by hallucinations, depersonalization, and nausea when Paris does not meet one's ex...

Original Sin (concept) 2 — Christian theological concept of humanity as fallen that makes symbolic sense according to human behavior.

Benicio del Toro (person) 2 — Actor cited as an example of someone misidentified as 'ugly hot' when he is actually just conventionally handsome

LLM (concept) 2 — Large Language Models, criticized as receiving disproportionate capital investment compared to robotics despite having l...

Down and Out in Paris and London (book) 2 — George Orwell's first novel from 1933 recounting his experiences with poverty while working in restaurants and hotels in...

Jane Fonda (person) 2 — Actress and activist whose trajectory from Marxism to marrying Ted Turner is presented as emblematic of the life arc of ...

The Sex Lives of College Girls (film) 2 — TV show by Mindy Kaling criticized as being a concept that would have been more relevant in 2010

Women Talking (film) 2 — A film criticized for projecting modern liberal opinions onto illiterate Mennonites and featuring heavy-handed progressi...

Anéantir (book) 2 — Novel by Michel Houellebecq ranked as the fourth-best fiction book read in 2023 by a subreddit user.

The Deus Armaaruss (book) 2 — A text that lays out a 'mark of the beast system' called Mars 360 which restricts buying and selling to those who acknow...

Stansted airport (place) 2 — London's budget airline airport described as hell on earth filled with drunk chavs heading to Malaga

Mars 360 (concept) 2 — A proposed global social accord based on recognizing Mars's influence on human behavior, described as a 'mark of the bea...

Perditionism (concept) 2 — Religious concept of willingly giving up salvation and accepting eternity in the lake of fire as a Christian virtue in o...

Anton Newcombe (person) 2 — The volatile lead of The Brian Jonestown Massacre, described as insane with a god complex who frequently got into physic...

The Power of the Dog (film) 2 — Film referenced through dismissive description of one of its actors.

Sparknotes (concept) 2 — Academic study aid defended as a legitimate strategy for comprehending complex literature through secondary sources

Year Zero (album) 2 — Nine Inch Nails album from the Bush era that dealt with paranoid and claustrophobic concepts relevant to authoritarian t...

Alexandra Kleeman (person) 2 — Contemporary female author known for writing about food and sexuality in ways some readers find difficult to relate to

There's Something About Mary (film) 2 — 1990s comedy film discussed as an example of when movies were funny, watched as part of a triple feature.

Predator (film) 2 — Action/sci-fi franchise that has seen more films released in the past 8 years than in its first 30 years, with three in ...

Face/Off (film) 2 — An action film watched as an alternative after being unable to access All The President's Men on HBO Max.

Vespertine (album) 2 — Björk album mentioned as her last good work before decline

Joel Sternfeld (person) 2 — Photographer known for works including Experimental Utopias and American Prospects

Aristophanes (person) 2 — Ancient Greek playwright whose works were on a trustfund zoomer's bookshelf alongside other classics