Red Scare Canon — Cultural References from the Subreddit

Mt Dew naming contest (concept) 1 — Referenced as an example of organic internet trolling done for its own sake before ragebait became monetized.

Liquid Chris (person) 1 — Internet personality cited as an example of organic trolling performance art before monetization of ragebait.

Fiverr (place) 1 — Online freelance marketplace where graphic designers end up selling services after failing to find traditional employmen...

Wix (place) 1 — Website builder platform that struggling graphic designers use to help retirees create websites for small businesses.

Midnight's Children (book) 1 — Novel by Salman Rushdie featuring the character Saleem Sinai, referenced in a discussion about embracing physical featur...

Saleem Sinai (person) 1 — Protagonist of Midnight's Children cited as an example of learning to love one's distinctive physical features.

On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous (book) 1 — Novel by Ocean Vuong praised for having one of the most beautiful book titles possible.

Juno (film) 1 — Film from 10-15 years ago that explored alt identities within the gender binary, contrasted with contemporary gender-sub...

Perks of Being a Wallflower (film) 1 — Film that explored alternative and queer identities while remaining within the gender binary, contrasted with contempora...

Sam Sulek (person) 1 — Fitness influencer representing an extreme, cartoonish male physique ideal that young men aspire to, described as a 'roi...

No More Mr. Nice Guy (book) 1 — A self-help book associated with red pill ideology that advocates for assertive masculine behavior and is criticized for...

In Praise of Shadows (book) 1 — A book by Junichiro Tanizaki exploring Japanese aesthetics and the incompatibility of traditional Japanese design with W...

Junichiro Tanizaki (person) 1 — A well-known Japanese author who wrote about the conflict between traditional Japanese aesthetics and Western modernizat...

Fayetteville, Arkansas (place) 1 — A college town home to the University of Arkansas, described as a walkable blue dot in a red state with affordable housi...

University of Arkansas (place) 1 — A university located in Fayetteville, Arkansas, mentioned as part of a college town lifestyle.

Western Modernity (concept) 1 — The imposition of Western cultural norms, technology, and aesthetics as the default standard of modern development globa...

Coquette Culture (concept) 1 — An online aesthetic associated with Lana Del Rey fans that romanticizes traditional gender roles and feminine submission...

Trad Twitter (concept) 1 — An online community of men advocating for traditional gender roles and relationships.

Saran wrap (concept) 1 — Plastic food wrap used excessively by the poster's mother-in-law for storing food, representing neurotic household behav...

EGOT (concept) 1 — Achievement of winning all four major American entertainment awards (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony), discussed as being deva...

A Man and a Woman (film) 1 — Romantic film recommended as part of an idealized romantic date in a vintage list of ways to please a woman

Jules et Jim (film) 1 — Romantic film by François Truffaut recommended as part of an idealized romantic date

Hacker News (place) 1 — Tech community website criticized for its users' lack of understanding of experiences beyond practical utility

London-Calcutta bus (concept) 1 — 1950s overland bus service between London and Calcutta that took 50 days, discussed as an adventure travel experience mi...

Hester Street Fair (place) 1 — New York City marketplace where a copypasta-style encounter with Anna Khachiyan allegedly occurred

Married With Children (film) 1 — Sitcom whose childhood viewing is considered a marker of proper humor development

Kevin Samuels (person) 1 — Media personality whose relationship content is criticized for its negative impact on Black community discourse

DB Cooper (person) 1 — Famous hijacker who was absurdly theorized to be the ending identity of Mad Men's Don Draper

Wednesday Addams (film) 1 — Netflix series criticized for sanitizing the titular character into a conventional YA teen drama protagonist

White Boy Spring (concept) 1 — Internet meme about seasonal renewal that failed to materialize for some users experiencing bad vibes

Millennial Narcissism (concept) 1 — Generational critique questioned for its accuracy in Anna Khachiyan's pinned tweet

Magic: The Gathering (concept) 1 — Card game played by a nerdy rowing team member described as having a Greek god physique

Zoomers (concept) 1 — Generational cohort criticized for anti-intellectualism and refusal to respect established community norms

Brian Leiter (person) 1 — Philosopher who summarizes Nietzsche's views on the human predicament, discussing the universal suffering and affliction...

Oblivion (film) 1 — Video game referenced when a group of kids mocked someone by calling them an 'Oblivion NPC', suggesting they appeared un...

Dayton (place) 1 — Ohio city where Bob Pollard, founder of Guided by Voices, was a high school baseball star and later a schoolteacher.

Bob Pollard (person) 1 — Former Dayton high school baseball star and alcoholic schoolteacher who founded Guided by Voices, an incredibly prolific...

Propeller (album) 1 — Guided by Voices' fifth album intended as their swan song in 1992, which unexpectedly became their breakthrough after in...

Bee Thousand (album) 1 — Guided by Voices' 1994 album on Scat Records, considered their arguable masterpiece, which led to them signing with Mata...

Scat Records (place) 1 — Record label that Guided by Voices signed to in 1993 after the breakthrough of Propeller, before moving to Matador.

Matador (place) 1 — Record label that Guided by Voices signed to after the success of Bee Thousand, helping establish them as iconic '90s in...

Skull and Bones (concept) 1 — Secret society at Yale University referenced in conspiracy context

General Relativity (concept) 1 — Einstein's theory of gravity that predicted the existence of black holes

Black Holes (concept) 1 — Astronomical phenomena that were imaged in 2019, confirming Einstein's century-old predictions

Cretaceous (concept) 1 — Geological period referenced to illustrate the vast distance of imaged black holes from Earth

Destroyer Magazine (place) 1 — A Swedish publication founded in 2006 by Andersson that sought to bring back the adolescent boy as an ideal of gay cultu...

Starry Night (book) 1 — Van Gogh's famous painting used as an example of great art that cannot be replicated by AI due to its historical and con...

Sundance Film Festival (place) 1 — A film festival where Dasha Nekrasova appeared, referenced in a satirical post about her celebrity status among fans.

JET Programme (concept) 1 — Japanese teaching program whose participants are stereotyped as white men who marry Japanese women hastily and face cult...

r/Japanlife (place) 1 — Reddit community known for repetitive posts about white JET teachers' divorces from Japanese women.