Red Scare Canon — Cultural References from the Subreddit

Norman Rockwell (person) 5 — American artist known for paintings like Little Girl Looking Downstairs at Christmas Party (1964)

Toxic Masculinity (concept) 5 — A form of masculinity depicted in The White Lotus as consistently rewarded with success, romantic relationships, and soc...

Pilates (concept) 5 — Exercise method focused on building lean muscle and strength, discussed as an alternative to cardio and calorie-restrict...

Crumbl Cookies (place) 5 — Cookie chain criticized as deified slop stemming from the normalization of the midwestern mind alongside the Savannah Ba...

Tyler Robinson (person) 5 — Individual listed among people connected to mass violence or tech leadership in a post suggesting a common thread.

Autogynephilia (concept) 5 — A sexological theory involving sexual arousal from the thought or image of oneself as a woman, discussed in context of m...

Godspeed You! Black Emperor (album) 5 — Post-rock band whose concert at University of Chicago cathedral was attended in a story about strip club experiences

Gaspar Noé (person) 5 — Film director known for provocative cinema, invoked as hypothetical director of an even more excessive version of Limitl...

Lauryn Hill (person) 5 — Musician whose album Miseducation is discussed as a guaranteed inclusion in Pitchfork's top 90s albums list.

Alex G (person) 5 — Indie musician referenced as emblematic of performative coolness in local music scenes

PBR (album) 5 — Pabst Blue Ribbon beer referenced as a cultural signifier of early 2000s hipster aesthetic that appropriated white worki...

Angelina Jolie (person) 5 — Actress referenced as an example of an otherworldly beauty that women love without insecurity.

Gooning (concept) 5 — Contemporary term for excessive pornography consumption discussed as an escalation of prior behaviors like binge-watchin...

Adult Swim (place) 5 — Television network that contacted an obscure musician/animator to make 20-minute episodes, which he declined because he ...

Pfizer (place) 5 — Pharmaceutical company that manufactures both COVID vaccines and hemorrhoid cream, humorously connected by a poster

Kansas City Chiefs (concept) 5 — NFL team with Native American imagery (arrowhead logo) discussed in context of forgotten debates about racist stereotype...

Solaris (film) 5 — A contemplative science fiction film by Andrei Tarkovsky that a six-year-old found boring, representing challenging cine...

Stalker (film) 5 — Tarkovsky film about three men traveling to a mysterious Zone containing a Room that allegedly fulfills desires, describ...

Playboy (concept) 5 — Magazine whose shoots from 2008 a user nostalgically searched for as part of their adolescent sexual awakening, leading ...

Marlon Brando (person) 5 — Legendary actor whose mannerisms Ryan Gosling autistically copied to develop a tougher-sounding accent

Stavros (person) 5 — A comedian who used to be on a podcast associated with Matty Healy, discussed as potentially facing future cancellation.

The Washington Post (place) 5 — Liberal media outlet mentioned alongside NPR and MSNBC as making certain Americans cannot escape the news cycle theater.

Mindy Kaling (person) 5 — Indian-American actress and writer referenced as making culturally specific content recognizable to Indian audiences.

Eddie Murphy (person) 5 — Actor and comedian who repeatedly hired John Landis as director despite Landis treating him poorly.

Barbra Streisand (person) 5 — Singer and actress who prompted discussion about whether the subreddit has a disproportionate Jewish demographic based o...

Lil Uzi Vert (person) 5 — Rapper who was found guilty of domestic assault in 2022 but whose career continued without significant impact, discussed...

Daniel Penny (person) 5 — Man involved in the death of Jordan Neely on NYC subway, discussed in context of public transportation safety and divide...

Full Metal Jacket (film) 5 — Kubrick film about Vietnam War that McKinsey employees allegedly had not heard of, used as example of their lack of cult...

Rust Cohle (person) 5 — Character referenced for nihilistic quote 'fuck this world, man' in context of despair over geopolitical atrocities.

Pixar (place) 5 — Animation studio whose movies have changed pacing drastically over two decades, becoming constant sensory overload for c...

Bo Burnham (person) 5 — Comedian and performer whose Netflix special addressed pandemic topics similar to redscare discourse but was still consi...

Niccolò Machiavelli (person) 5 — Renaissance political philosopher and author of The Prince, defended against interpretations of his work as satire and c...

USPS (place) 5 — The United States Postal Service, described as having cultural cachet as a Rockwellian institution compared to private d...

Boy Meets World (film) 5 — 90s TV show featuring awkward protagonist Cory Matthews with themes of acceptance and self-worth, contrary to the idea t...

CBS (place) 5 — Television network where A Charlie Brown Christmas was formerly broadcast annually before becoming an Apple TV exclusive...

Livejournal (place) 5 — Early social media platform for long-form blogging popular among millennials in the 2000s before the shift to microblogg...

Robinhood (place) 5 — A trading platform that blocked trading during the GameStop short squeeze in 2021, protecting institutional investors at...

Nike (concept) 5 — A sneaker brand whose expensive products are part of the criticized athleisure uniform that dominates contemporary casua...

RateYourMusic (place) 5 — Music rating and cataloging website criticized for having electronic genre charts dominated by video game soundtracks ra...

TMZ (place) 5 — Celebrity gossip media outlet referenced in discussion of how celebrity gossip has migrated to Reddit with woke framing.

Race Science (concept) 5 — Pseudoscientific theories about racial differences that Anna Khachiyan frequently discusses, leaving listeners confused ...

Assad (person) 5 — Syrian leader who was overthrown after almost 15 years in what's described as a CIA/MI6/Mossad regime change operation.

Kenya (place) 5 — Country featured in Anthony Bourdain's Parts Unknown episode criticized for focusing on political issues rather than foo...

MCAT (concept) 5 — Medical school admissions test where affluent students increasingly receive extended time accommodations for anxiety and...

Alien (film) 5 — A film noted for featuring masculine female leads with deep voices and commanding presence despite not being alt charact...

Uncle Ted (person) 5 — Reference to Ted Kaczynski, the Unabomber, whose manifesto Industrial Society is cited as more relevant than contemporar...

Marina Abramović (person) 5 — A performance artist discussed in relation to conspiracy theories about her 'Spirit Cooking' work being misinterpreted a...

Elizabeth Olsen (person) 5 — Actress who stated that movies should be experienced together in theaters, prompting negative Reddit reactions.

Chechnya (place) 5 — Site of Russian military conflict that graduate professors discussing Ukraine war were completely unfamiliar with, revea...

Dagestan (place) 5 — Russian republic and site of conflict that graduate professors discussing Ukraine war were completely unfamiliar with, r...