Red Scare Canon — Cultural References from the Subreddit

Ogallala aquifer (place) 1 — Major aquifer being depleted to death by monoculture farming where tallgrass prairies once stood

Competence porn (concept) 1 — Character archetype criticized for featuring sexy maladjusted geniuses who are good at their cool jobs but suffering ins...

Prostitution and Male Supremacy (book) 1 — Andrea Dworkin essay arguing that prostitution is intrinsically abusive and constitutes a fundamental violation of women...

Félix Guattari (person) 1 — French psychoanalyst and philosopher referenced (as 'gattari') sarcastically in critique of people who claim obscure the...

Diogo Jota (person) 1 — Portuguese footballer who played for Liverpool and died in 2025

Hemingway cat (concept) 1 — Polydactyl cats with extra toes, named after Ernest Hemingway who kept them at his home in Key West

Iowa caucus (concept) 1 — Political event referenced as a symbol of extreme racial homogeneity in comparison to the jury that indicted Ghislaine M...

The Great Resignation (concept) 1 — Post-pandemic labor phenomenon of workers voluntarily leaving jobs, discussed in relation to unemployment benefits

St. Vincent (person) 1 — Musician whose first three albums were praised but whose later work is criticized as a drastic decline in quality

Elsagate (concept) 1 — Phenomenon of creepy violent/sexual YouTube videos directed at children that went viral around 2017

GCSEs (concept) 1 — General Certificate of Secondary Education exams taken in England at age 16 covering compulsory subjects

Btecs (concept) 1 — British vocational qualifications perceived as inferior alternatives to A-Levels with no exams

Mary Wollstonecraft (person) 1 — A writer quoted on the topic of intense romantic friendship, expressing the desire for first place in relationships or n...

Terminator 2 (film) 1 — A 1991 action film cited as an example of successful movies that didn't rely on constant humor to maintain audience enga...

Philly (place) 1 — Philadelphia, referenced in a discussion about residents being trolled on Twitter by someone described as autistic.

ED (concept) 1 — Eating disorders, referenced in relation to users who post body-shaming content while having visible histories of mental...

Michael Lewis (person) 1 — An author whose books about finance and trading Caroline Ellison is imagined to enjoy reading.

Werner Von Braun (person) 1 — Nazi rocket scientist who worked on both German V-2 missiles and later the US space program, referenced in comparison to...

bookcirclejerk (place) 1 — A Reddit subreddit for satirical book-related posts that banned users for participating in other subreddits

Die Antwoord (album) 1 — South African musical group mentioned as influenced by Crystal Castles

Snow Strippers (album) 1 — Musical group mentioned as influenced by Crystal Castles

RSD (concept) 1 — Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria, a psychological concept used to pathologize emotional reactions to rejection

Social Conservatism (concept) 1 — Political ideology that the subreddit discusses as a counterpoint to liberal identity politics.

Lil Kim (person) 1 — Rapper who receives poptimist critical re-evaluation according to discussion of music criticism trends.

Smashmouth (person) 1 — Late 90s alt-rock band whose hit 'All Star' is discussed as being excluded from poptimist re-evaluation despite being qu...

Matchbox 20 (person) 1 — Late 90s alt-rock band discussed as exemplifying pop music that doesn't receive poptimist critical re-evaluation.

Ram Dass (person) 1 — Spiritual teacher and author whose work is discussed in relation to hippie spirituality and mystical experiences.

US Department of State (place) 1 — American government institution cited as sponsoring a pride parade, illustrating American soft power.

Kitchen Confidential (book) 1 — Book referenced in discussion of the romanticization and fetishization of hospitality work.

Boiling Point (film) 1 — Film about kitchen work referenced as part of the romanticization of hospitality industry culture.

The Fifth Estate (film) 1 — Canadian investigative journalism program that exposed Buffy Sainte-Marie as a pretendian.

Alien 3 (film) 1 — Third Alien film praised for its cast, atmosphere, and story but largely forgotten in cultural memory.

United Arab Republic (place) 1 — Pan-Arab political union between Egypt and Syria that emerged partly due to perceived Israeli threat.

Gamal Abdel Nasser (person) 1 — Egyptian leader who formed the United Arab Republic partly in response to Israeli threats.

Arthur (film) 1 — Children's television show praised for its humor, music, and quality in early seasons

Lisztomania (album) 1 — A song that was playing in Walmart and became the backdrop for an awkward social interaction involving misunderstood sin...

Vicious (album) 1 — A Lou Reed song whose guitar riff was used as a celebratory gesture after successfully explaining a past relationship th...

Uncle Ben (person) 1 — A brand mascot predicted to be briefly removed and then reinstated alongside Aunt Jemima as part of corporate outrage ma...

Finno-Ugric (concept) 1 — A linguistic and ethnic classification discussed in relation to distinct body odor characteristics that supposedly diffe...

Indo-European (concept) 1 — A linguistic and ethnic classification contrasted with Finno-Ugric populations in terms of supposedly distinct body odor...

Mixtape Hyperborea (book) 1 — Self-published novel about boys in private school who enjoy calling each other gay, set in 2007 and described as funny a...

Shalom Harlow (person) 1 — Model referenced as stick thin person diagnosed with a rare disease that manifests as malaise and tiredness.

HR 6090 (concept) 1 — A bill referenced in the context of increasing intolerance and restrictions on posting about Israel on Reddit and other ...

Prince Hal (person) 1 — Shakespeare character referenced sarcastically as 'Prince Hal-unter' in connection to Hunter Biden and the 2024 politica...

The Princess and the Pea (book) 1 — Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale referenced to mock people who perform hypersensitivity to minor discomforts.

A Piece of the Sky (album) 1 — Song by Swans proposed as potentially the greatest artistic achievement of the 21st century.

John Vervaeke (person) 1 — University of Toronto psychology professor known for discussing the "meaning crisis" and proposing quasi-religious ritua...

Frank O'Hara (person) 1 — Poet whose style is referenced as nostalgic and full of nouns, used to describe a performance at a polyamorous party.

(Ghost) Riders In the Sky (album) 1 — Song performed by the author's friend at a polyamorous talent show while wearing a cowboy hat.

Our Lady Peace (album) 1 — Canadian rock band from the 90s, described as "probably the 8th best song by the 7th best Canadian rock band of the 90s"...