Red Scare Canon — Cultural References from the Subreddit

Laquan McDonald (person) 1 — Person whose name appears in a possibly fabricated 2017 protest related to Amazon in Chicago

Elias Rodrigues (person) 1 — Suspect pictured at a protest in 2017 that may have never actually occurred

Pentecostal Christianity (concept) 1 — Branch of Christianity described as a cult by a poster who grew up in it and experienced childhood trauma.

Hans Niemann (person) 1 — Chess grandmaster whose reputation was destroyed by Magnus Carlsen's cheating accusations, allegedly partly because Niem...

Sinquefield Cup (concept) 1 — Chess tournament from which Magnus Carlsen dramatically withdrew after losing to Hans Niemann, implying cheating.

Hurling (concept) 1 — Irish sport mentioned in relation to Cork losing the All-Ireland championship for the second consecutive year.

Predator 2 (film) 1 — Lesser sequel in the Predator franchise that featured a xenomorph skull, credited with enabling future franchise crossov...

Mazda3 (concept) 1 — Car model that a poster keeps immaculate to honor his father's advice and impress a female coworker.

Sabrina (1954) (film) 1 — A 1954 film noted for its costume design, particularly a dress worn by a character with a ballerina body while waiting f...

Avey Tare (person) 1 — A founding member of Animal Collective who released early albums with Panda Bear and Geologist.

Panda Bear (person) 1 — A founding member of Animal Collective who also released solo work including a 1999 self-titled album.

Geologist (person) 1 — A member of Animal Collective who joined for albums starting with Danse Manatee in 2001.

Konnie Huq (person) 1 — A British TV presenter famous for her long stint on children's show Blue Peter, described as lovely and the first boyhoo...

Rupa Huq (person) 1 — British MP for Ealing Central and Acton and sister of Konnie Huq, also attended Cambridge but noted for less physical at...

Blue Peter (film) 1 — A British children's television show where Konnie Huq had a long-running stint as presenter.

Ealing Central and Acton (place) 1 — A British parliamentary constituency represented by MP Rupa Huq for ten years.

Paper Planes (album) 1 — A hit song by M.I.A. mentioned as part of her contribution to representing South Asian culture in the West.

Carlyle (place) 1 — Private equity firm mentioned as an entity that extracts funds from communities

CALPERS (place) 1 — California pension fund mentioned as an investor in private equity

Einstein (person) 1 — Famous physicist referenced as someone whose work a tech worker believes he is improving upon

San Diego State (place) 1 — University where a grandfather finished college on the GI Bill after serving in Vietnam

Royal Road (concept) 1 — Ancient Persian infrastructure project created to promote trade across the empire

Persians (concept) 1 — Ancient empire praised for its tolerant governance and protection of diverse subjects

World Health Organization (place) 1 — An international health organization that the USA recently left, possibly as part of American century of humiliation.

Skidmore (place) 1 — A college that homeschooled kids attend after taking a gap year WWOOFing in Romania.

Self-Care, A Novel (book) 1 — A novel by Leigh Stein described as a brutal exploration of girlboss aesthetic and woke capitalism, compared to Houelleb...

Leigh Stein (person) 1 — Author of Self-Care, A Novel, a critique of girlboss culture and woke capitalism

SGI (concept) 1 — Buddhist organization described as a cult that recruits through personal invitations, with dedicated recovery subreddits...

Internet Socialism (concept) 1 — Online political movement that Lauren Oyler believes is becoming tainted and uncool like feminism due to internet behavi...

Lucien (place) 1 — Restaurant mentioned by Lauren Oyler as a place she's never been but heard the food sucks

Andrei Tarkovsky: Interviews (book) 1 — Collection of interviews with Tarkovsky providing detailed explanations of his films and creative process

Strugatsky brothers (person) 1 — Russian authors who wrote the original novel that Stalker was based on

Phyllis Rooney (person) 1 — Author who wrote essay critiquing gendered metaphors and sex metaphor in reason

Mark Rapaport (person) 1 — Person who attended the premiere of The Scary of Sixty-First, described as very charming

Das Filmdate (place) 1 — German podcast about movies created by a couple that reviewed The Scary of Sixty-First

Plastic Paddys (concept) 1 — Term for Americans of Irish descent who emphasize Irish identity while being culturally American.

Dennis Villeneuve (person) 1 — Film director praised for his 2021 adaptation of Dune.

Therapist-zoned (concept) 1 — Relationship dynamic where someone is used for emotional support but not seen as a romantic partner.

Ramy (film) 1 — TV show discussed as 'Muslim Louis' or 'arab louis', compared to Louis C.K.'s style of mononym cultural exploration come...

Dave (film) 1 — TV show referenced as 'Jew Louis' in comparison to Louis C.K.'s show, described as a mononym cultural exploration off-ki...

Dr. Melfi (person) 1 — Character from The Sopranos referenced in comparison to a poster's therapist, described as less hot and less worthy of d...

Ahmaud Arbery (person) 1 — Victim whose killers' trial is discussed alongside Kyle Rittenhouse as final remnants of George Floyd protests

The Proud Boys (concept) 1 — Counter-protest group criticized for LARPing during George Floyd protests with trucks, flags, and Oakley sunglasses

Patriot Prayer (concept) 1 — Counter-protest group criticized alongside Proud Boys for theatrical displays during George Floyd protests

Oswald Mosley (person) 1 — British fascist figure mentioned as a comparison to Mishima, representing right-wing figures who are not celebrated by l...

Chinese Cooking Demystified (place) 1 — YouTube cooking channel praised for having actual culinary knowledge and teaching perspective, unlike popular food blogg...

Sandra Lee (person) 1 — Television cooking personality mentioned as someone who sucked at cooking but was at least entertaining to watch, unlike...

Dark Ambient (concept) 1 — Electronic music subgenre whose charts on RateYourMusic are dominated by video game soundtracks rather than standalone a...

Dylann Roof (person) 1 — Mass shooter whose deleted 'Last Rhodesian' website was found by a poster from a mid-2000s leftist forum, preventing him...

Chivalric Romance (concept) 1 — A medieval literary genre that Don Quixote is credited with ending as a cultural plague.