Red Scare Canon — Cultural References from the Subreddit

Titane (film) 1 — A 2020s film praised as a great overlooked accessible gem of the decade.

EO (film) 1 — A 2020s film referenced as a comparison point for discussing overlooked accessible gems.

La Chimera (film) 1 — A 2020s film mentioned alongside EO as a reference point for discussing overlooked cinema.

Brandon Flowers (person) 1 — Rock musician cited as an example of male pop culture icons from an earlier era that young women were obsessed with.

Benson Boon (person) 1 — Contemporary pop musician mentioned dismissively as an example of uninspiring white male musicians in current mainstream...

Dire Straits (person) 1 — 1980s rock band referenced as an example of mainstream music that allowed middle-aged men to feel part of culture.

Prednisone (concept) 1 — A medication that can affect hormones, cause brain fog and fatigue, and make gaining muscle difficult when taken long-te...

Gay Culture (concept) 1 — Critiqued as non-existent or non-subversive in 2019, compared to being into reality TV and pop music or comic book fando...

Commedia (book) 1 — Dante's major work referenced as an example of complex literature that benefits from secondary source reading

Young Adult Literature (concept) 1 — Contemporary YA books being assigned in schools as an alternative to canonical literature, criticized for lowering liter...

Occultism (concept) 1 — Growing contemporary interest in witchcraft, crystals, and tarot among normie demographics

Softness (film) 1 — Film featuring Dasha Nekrasova where she defeats a girlboss antagonist

Bally Pinball Machines (concept) 1 — Brand of pinball machines from the 1980s-90s praised as the best, including titles like Medieval Madness, Attack From Ma...

psilocybin (concept) 1 — Psychedelic substance desired for treatment of depression but unable to be tried due to lack of trip supervision.

Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (album) 1 — Album title used as example of NATO phonetic alphabet usage in a post advocating for normalizing its use.

NATO phonetic alphabet (concept) 1 — Standardized spelling alphabet advocated for normalization to improve communication efficiency over informal alternative...

r/trashy (place) 1 — Subreddit whose featured people are defended as often just 'rockin too hard for redditors' rather than being disgusting.

Underground Man (person) 1 — Dostoevsky's literary character quoted on the impossibility of becoming anything meaningful and the moral paralysis of t...

Sean Thor Conroe (person) 1 — Guest on Red Scare podcast whose interview was compared to speech therapists helping a head trauma patient form coherent...

Dyatlov Pass incident (concept) 1 — Historical mystery invoked as metaphor for watching weakened ants crawl over their dead comrades after consuming body sc...

Flight 93 (concept) 1 — September 11 hijacked flight referenced in a joke about Mark Wahlberg's action hero fantasies

C25K (concept) 1 — Couch to 5K running program referenced by someone newly taking up running in Miami

James O'Keefe (person) 1 — Conservative activist referenced as the supposed disguise that Bill Clinton's rape accusers are allegedly wearing accord...

Eco-antinatalism (concept) 1 — Environmental philosophy discussed as potentially leading to suicide cults as a logical continuation of harm reduction

Trinidad James (person) 1 — Rapper referenced in a humorous post about Friday night activities.

Leisure Suit Larry (film) 1 — Video game series mentioned in a humorous post about Friday night activities.

Lorne Michaels (person) 1 — Saturday Night Live producer referenced negatively in a comment about a poorly written comedy sketch by a redditor.

1920s Berlin (place) 1 — Historical era and location referenced as an example of a subversive cultural scene.

mid-60s psychedelia (concept) 1 — Cultural movement and era referenced as an example of a subversive scene.

late 80s raves (concept) 1 — Cultural scene from the late 1980s referenced as an example of a subversive era.

nu-disco (concept) 1 — Music genre and scene discussed as a recent creative period in Norway.

psychedelic rock (concept) 1 — Music genre mentioned in discussion of recent creative scene in Australia.

Heart of Darkness (book) 1 — Joseph Conrad novel referenced by someone invited to travel up the Congo River because of their love for the book.

Pointe Noire (place) 1 — City in Congo mentioned as the location of a strange travel invitation involving river travel and pit-mines.

semaglutide (concept) 1 — Weight loss pharmaceutical drug discussed as a wonder-drug that could eliminate obesity among middle and upper classes

Brother's Keeper (film) 1 — Documentary about the Wards family that inspired The X-Files episode 'Home'

Greenwich, Connecticut (place) 1 — Wealthy Connecticut town where Eastern European immigrant observed rich families sabotaging each other and divorcing

Wake Me Up When September Ends (album) 1 — Green Day song played on ukulele as fulfilling creative outlet

ironic detachment (concept) 1 — Cultural mode of masking feelings with indifference that the author argues should be abandoned for genuine earnestness

Kendall Roy (person) 1 — A character from the TV show Succession, described as a "little loser" who is attractive in a complex way.

Sandra Dee (person) 1 — A classical Hollywood actress mentioned as one of the many people the poster's great uncle was allegedly involved with i...

Romeo Gigli (person) 1 — A fashion designer who mentored a young Alexander McQueen, with a notable story involving a rude message McQueen left in...

American Prospects (book) 1 — Photography book by Joel Sternfeld considered superior to his Experimental Utopias work

Experimental Utopias (book) 1 — Photography work by Joel Sternfeld, considered inferior to American Prospects

Waldorf school (place) 1 — Alternative education system attended by wealthy zoomers at a trustfund party

Ormonde Jayne Woman (concept) 1 — Tasteful perfume noticed at a Halloween trustfund zoomer party

Gaylor (concept) 1 — Female-coded autistic phenomenon involving speculation about Taylor Swift's sexuality

Mythos (concept) 1 — Greek beer brand mentioned as accompaniment to Greek cuisine

Rorschach (person) 1 — A character referenced as an archetype of nihilistic masculinity that police officers identify with.

Rambo (person) 1 — Film character that Christopher Dorner identified with, illustrating how people latch onto character tropes.