Red Scare Canon — Cultural References from the Subreddit

Josh Homme (person) 1 — Musician who collaborated with Alex Turner and is suggested to have influenced Turner's shift toward a faux-American cro...

The Last Shadow Puppets (album) 1 — Side project of Alex Turner described as incredible and influential on the last two Arctic Monkeys albums.

Six Feet Beneath the Moon (album) 1 — King Krule album cited as his most popular work despite being middling in his discography

Salad Days (album) 1 — Mac DeMarco album cited as his most popular work despite being middling in his discography

SUNY Binghamton (place) 1 — State University of New York campus referenced disparagingly in context of financial industry workers during economic re...

Russia-Ukraine War (concept) 1 — The military conflict used as a comparison point for potential escalation in the Balkans.

The Olympians (concept) 1 — The ancient Greek pantheon of gods, discussed as an alternative to modern Christianity in Greece.

Shinto (concept) 1 — The traditional Japanese religion discussed as a lost alternative to modern atheism in Japan.

Mimetic Collapse (concept) 1 — A concept from Freddie deBoer about how online discourse becomes unhinged and removed from everyday experience.

Ukraine War Military Casualties (concept) 1 — The approximately 200,000 military deaths in Ukraine since the Russian invasion, discussed as a tragic reality.

The Rural Electrification Act of 1936 (concept) 1 — One of FDR's signature New Deal programs that brought electricity to rural America, discussed in the context of art exhi...

Tortured artist (concept) 1 — A myth discussed on the subreddit that emotional suffering is necessary for artistic creation, challenged by a poster wh...

Social anxiety (concept) 1 — Mental health condition discussed by a poster who describes being nervous, awkward, and unable to change despite many at...

PFAS chemicals (concept) 1 — Industrial chemicals theorized by a poster to be responsible for increased mental illnesses including autism, anxiety di...

New York Times Book Review (place) 1 — Literary publication criticized for publishing dreadful, banal prose focused heavily on race with no real criticism

Columbia Plateau (place) 1 — Vast, washed-out lowlands in Washington state located beyond the last basalt mountains

r/HumansBeingBros (place) 1 — Reddit community focused on celebrating acts of human kindness, used as an example of an online space someone might mode...

Aurora shooting (concept) 1 — 2012 movie theater shooting in Aurora, Colorado that occurred during an election year

Orlando nightclub shooting (concept) 1 — 2016 mass shooting that occurred during an election year alongside Trump-related controversies

Abdul Malik Badreddin al-Houthi (person) 1 — Houthi leader to whom a poster sends blessings in a post about skunks

Oval Office (place) 1 — Location of Biden's address about not running for reelection

UIC Pavilion (place) 1 — Third-tier basketball arena in Chicago where Cage the Elephant performed

The Byrds (album) 1 — 1960s rock band whose music was played by a 74-year-old woman while watering flowers

Chimes of Freedom (album) 1 — Song by The Byrds that a 74-year-old woman was playing while watering her garden

Transubstantiation (concept) 1 — Christian theological doctrine that the poster believes would make Christ cringe, representing denominational quibbling ...

Jeremiah Johnson (film) 1 — Film referenced as an example of withdrawing from civilization, which the poster considers doing to escape political deb...

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) (place) 1 — U.S. federal agency created during the Nixon administration to protect human health and the environment.

Paris Peace Agreement (concept) 1 — Vietnam War peace accord negotiated during Nixon administration.

Cobra Kai (film) 1 — TV series referenced by someone with a karate fetish for featuring actors in karate gis.

Peyton List (person) 1 — Actress from Cobra Kai mentioned in context of karate fetish.

Meta AI (concept) 1 — Facebook's AI chatbot that a father mistook for one of his friends.

X Factor (film) 1 — Talent competition show that appears in manipulative engagement bait content.

Southwestern Ontario (place) 1 — Region of Canada, home to Justin Bieber, referenced in relation to his appearance.

Banned Book Week (concept) 1 — Annual event criticized for having a low threshold for what constitutes a banned book.

Palace of the Republic (place) 1 — East German parliament building (1976-2008) that also served as public space with shops, restaurants, and cultural venue...

GDR (German Democratic Republic) (place) 1 — East Germany, referenced as the state that operated the Palace of the Republic.

Machine Gun Kelly (MGK) (person) 1 — A musician discussed as the definitive example of an 'industry blank' who constantly reinvents himself across different ...

Bad Boy (place) 1 — A record label run by Diddy that first signed Machine Gun Kelly.

Tall Poppy Syndrome (concept) 1 — Irish cultural tendency to cut down or resent those who achieve success or stand out, requiring constant self-deprecatio...

The Sphere (place) 1 — A large spherical entertainment venue in Las Vegas praised as an amazing piece of technology despite being potentially t...

Sympathy is a Knife (album) 1 — A Charli XCX song interpreted as self-introspective exploration of inability to mask emotions rather than an attack on a...

Hootsuite (place) 1 — Social media management platform whose sales representatives engage in aggressive cold-calling tactics.

Chippendale (place) 1 — Sydney neighborhood that contains the historic Strickland Building, surrounded by modern architecture.

Katie Hopkins (person) 1 — British media personality cited as an example of a provocateur who can be effectively no-platformed due to lack of indep...

Brandeis (place) 1 — University attended by Liz Bruenig and a Reddit poster, with a predominantly Jewish student population

Dolce & Gabbana (person) 1 — Fashion brand that sued Diet Prada for defamation

Diet Prada (place) 1 — Instagram account run by Tony Liu and Lindsey Schuyler that was sued by Dolce & Gabbana for defamation

Tony Liu (person) 1 — Co-founder of Diet Prada criticized as 'vile' in connection with Dolce & Gabbana lawsuit

Lindsey Schuyler (person) 1 — Co-founder of Diet Prada criticized as 'vile' in connection with Dolce & Gabbana lawsuit

Pushkin (person) 1 — Russian writer cited for the observation that 'Othello is not jealous, he is trusting'