Red Scare Canon — Cultural References from the Subreddit

Bill Belichick (person) 5 — Football coach whose girlfriend is reportedly in conflict with his family and threatening legal action against podcaster...

NPD (concept) 5 — Narcissistic Personality Disorder, mentioned skeptically alongside BPD as an ambiguous diagnosis used casually to explai...

John Updike (person) 5 — American author described as 'a penis with a thesaurus' who composed some of the most erotic scenes in American literary...

Gatekeeping (concept) 5 — Cultural practice discussed as having immense value when done right, but often undermined by obnoxious insecure gatekeep...

Theodore Kaczynski (person) 5 — Referenced as being right about technology and social media's negative effects on society, particularly regarding Instag...

The White Stripes (album) 5 — Rock duo discussed in relation to their hit jock jam 'Seven Nation Army' and the observation that many of their early 20...

CHAZ (place) 5 — Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone, a disorganized occupation of four blocks in Seattle that was misrepresented in media cover...

Hasan Minhaj (person) 5 — Indian-American comedian described as one of the least fuckable dudes and one of the only 'cool' brown guys in entertain...

Benedict Cumberbatch (person) 5 — British actor mentioned in ranking of British actors by class origin, noted as coming from privileged background with pa...

Xi Jinping (person) 5 — Chinese leader whose hold on power is connected to the welfare of his people, discussed in context of state control over...

In the Mood for Love (film) 5 — A heartbreaking film discussed as prompting the poster to seek suggestions for good requited love stories in contrast.

Kansas (place) 5 — A state described as once being the epicenter of America's radical progressive populist movement and setting of The Wiza...

Aftersun (film) 5 — Film by Charlotte Wells praised for its genius visual storytelling in the final ten minutes, implying suicide, conveying...

David Chase (person) 5 — Creator of The Sopranos, described as a second- or third-generation ethnic Boomer and compared to John Updike as chronic...

The Deer Hunter (film) 5 — Vietnam War film mentioned alongside Apocalypse Now as empowering the viewer to be selfish and see the world as confused...

Benito Mussolini (person) 5 — Italian fascist dictator admired by a self-described fascist at a Halloween party for his ideology of natural hierarchy.

Car Seat Headrest (album) 5 — A band whose frontman Will Toledo canceled tour dates due to long COVID, with speculation that his mental health issues ...

Another Round (film) 5 — Danish film that investigates the claim that humans should maintain a 0.05% blood-alcohol level for peak performance.

Dianne Feinstein (person) 5 — California senator whose staff allegedly kept her working through illness, costing the judiciary committee months of jud...

Requiem for a Dream (film) 5 — Film chosen by someone swearing off news in 2026 to kick off their year of consuming more cultural content.

CDC (place) 5 — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, referenced in the context of announcing it was safe for vaccinated peopl...

Xanax (concept) 5 — Prescription benzodiazepine medication for anxiety that a user had prescribed but was cut off by their doctor.

Robin Williams (person) 5 — Actor referenced in the context of dogmatic millennial conversations with repetitive wholesome anecdotes shared at socia...

Macbeth (book) 5 — Shakespeare play adapted into film by Joel Coen in 2022, featuring performances by Denzel Washington and Frances McDorma...

The Daily Beast (place) 5 — Online news publication that published Freddie DeBoer's article about Jordan Neely and involuntary treatment.

Rush Hour (film) 5 — 1990s/2000s film series cited as example of when races acknowledged differences and clowned each other but were still ti...

South Dakota (place) 5 — State passing legislation to allow physician assistants to practice independently after only 520 clinical hours

I Think You Should Leave (film) 5 — Sketch comedy show referenced as a comparison point for the tonally inconsistent comedic scenes in Killers of the Flower...

Princeton (place) 5 — Ivy League university referenced in context of academic elitism and status comparison with state schools

Can't Get You Out of My Head (film) 5 — Adam Curtis documentary that dismisses JFK assassination conspiracy theories in its first episode

Pearl Harbor (concept) 5 — Historical attack referenced as a parallel to Israel's potential motivation for allowing the Hamas attack as a pretext f...

Brave New World (book) 5 — A dystopian novel referenced in context of modern society prioritizing frivolity and superficial connections over genuin...

Henri Matisse (person) 5 — Modernist artist whose painting 'Goldfish' from 1912 is featured in a collection of aquatic animal paintings.

Chile (place) 5 — Country whose economy under Pinochet would have collapsed without the Chicago Boys field-testing austerity in alternate ...

Julius Caesar (person) 5 — Roman general and dictator whose career is discussed as leaving much to be desired aside from his Gallic campaign.

Fleabag (film) 5 — A television series whose female fanbase ('Fleabag girlies') is discussed as being opposed to the 'sensitive young man' ...

Mary Gaitskill (person) 5 — American author whose books 'Bad Behavior,' 'Because They Wanted To,' and 'Two Girls, Fat and Thin' were purchased at a ...

Joel Coen (person) 5 — Film director who made a 2022 adaptation of Macbeth praised for its balance of straightforward text interpretation with ...

Tenet (place) 5 — A media organization involved in an indictment related to Russian influence, with discussion of whether influencers like...

Rick Owens (person) 5 — Fashion designer whose Slab jeans are mentioned as part of a failed attempt to emulate Carolyn Bessette Kennedy's style ...

Eric Weinstein (person) 5 — Intellectual and money manager for Peter Thiel, criticized for his Einstein/Dylan-esque hairstyle despite being a 'pompo...

WeWork (place) 5 — Co-working space visited on a Friday morning that appeared nearly empty with no one actually working, described as a con...

Southern California (place) 5 — Region where therapist Hannah Khoddam practices and observes social media creating unchallenged feedback loops about psy...

Ilhan Omar (person) 5 — American politician discussed in terms of maintaining support among both ultraconservative Muslims and white liberals de...

Apple Vision Pro (concept) 5 — Apple's spatial computing headset that superimposes smartphone interface onto the user's field of vision, discussed as m...

Luca Guadagnino (person) 5 — Film director praised for his unique ability to portray male attractiveness in films like Challengers and Call Me By You...

The Witch (film) 5 — Horror film whose opening is described as coming close to traumatizing viewers with a new way of being scary before beco...

UBI (concept) 5 — Universal Basic Income, a policy that Redditors allegedly believe will result from AI advancement despite skepticism fro...

Bugonia (film) 5 — A film featuring Emma Stone as someone captured by competent corporate villains, praised for its portrayal of evil as co...

Tom Waits (person) 5 — Musician compared to Lana Del Rey for glamorizing destructive behavior through a Bukowski-meets-Captain-Beefheart aesthe...