Red Scare Canon — Cultural References from the Subreddit

Maladaptive daydreaming (concept) 4 — A psychological condition where individuals unintentionally imagine being watched by others, often creating idealized ve...

The Master (film) 4 — Paul Thomas Anderson film praised for performances and writing, particularly Philip Seymour Hoffman's character.

Tubi (place) 4 — Free streaming service with extensive film library including classic and art house films, praised for offering quality c...

Bikini Kill (album) 4 — Punk band whose frontwoman Kathleen Hanna lectured audiences about mask-wearing and discussed disowning family members f...

LeetCode (place) 4 — An online platform for technical interview preparation focused on coding problems, used by software engineers to practic...

Ezra Klein (person) 4 — Journalist and podcaster criticized for his 'Abundance' political pitch that focuses on removing regulations to reduce b...

Chief Keef (person) 4 — Chicago rapper compared to anime character Lucy from Elfen Lied for shared themes of childhood trauma, violence as survi...

Normal People (film) 4 — Novel positioned as potential great millennial novel but criticized for lacking scope and resonance compared to Gen X no...

DEA (place) 4 — The Drug Enforcement Administration, referenced in the context of paranoia about intercepted drug purchases.

Art Deco (concept) 4 — Architectural and furniture style discussed as the last style worthy of respect before the bad mainstreamization of Bauh...

CTE (concept) 4 — Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, a neurodegenerative disease referenced by a 23-year-old former football player who dev...

Corporate Memphis (concept) 4 — A design style characterized by flat, minimalist illustrations often used in corporate settings, contrasted negatively w...

Virgil (person) 4 — Roman poet whose portrayal of Ulysses as cruel contrasts with Homer's heroic Greek version of Odysseus, illustrating cha...

McCarthyism (concept) 4 — Anti-communist political campaign and period of accusations referenced as historical context necessary to understand Opp...

Brokeback Mountain (film) 4 — Film praised for its great pacing, beautiful cinematography, and heartbreaking exploration of the cost of forgoing life'...

Formula 1 (concept) 4 — International auto racing sport criticized as being dominated by wealthy oligarchs' children, corrupt money, and predict...

Denzel Washington (person) 4 — Actor cited as an example of someone always obviously better than those around them.

The Florida Project (film) 4 — A film that depicts homelessness and poverty in Orlando, particularly resonant for those who experienced similar childho...

Enneagram (concept) 4 — Personality typing system referenced in a satirical gatekeeping joke about requiring women to be type 4 (preferably 4w3)...

Myers-Briggs (concept) 4 — Personality typing system that phrenological delineations were compared to in their style and function

Coors Light (album) 4 — Beer brand mentioned in anecdote about a small-town mechanic drinking on the job while hiding the can in a work boot.

Hans Zimmer (person) 4 — Film composer whose masterclass is cited as example of pretentiousness from someone with less musical understanding than...

Narcan (concept) 4 — Medication used to reverse opioid overdoses, mentioned as something that should be used on people nodding off on sidewal...

Chris Kraus (person) 4 — Author whose novel Summer of Hate contains a passage that subreddit members see as describing Anna's writing style and p...

Usher (person) 4 — R&B musician who performed at a Super Bowl halftime show, cited as an example of quality contemporary performers.

Geico (place) 4 — Insurance company that directs non-customers to download their app for claims processing without providing alternative s...

Freddy Got Fingered (film) 4 — A Tom Green film that received zero stars from Roger Ebert but is defended as potentially a masterpiece by some viewers.

Jennifer Aniston (person) 4 — Actress discussed as example of maintaining beauty into the 50s while still appearing 'old' compared to looking late 20s...

The Big Lebowski (film) 4 — 1990s film used to illustrate how unrealistic housing situations were portrayed in media from that era.

Dissociative Identity Disorder (concept) 4 — A psychological diagnosis experiencing a surge in self-diagnosis among young people on TikTok, compared to the 1970s spl...

San Jose (place) 4 — California city where Mexican Gen Z youth are described as engaging in violent drill music-inspired behavior despite str...

CCP (concept) 4 — Chinese Communist Party, discussed in context of their attempts to regulate and control AI-generated content through ext...

Genghis Khan (person) 4 — Mongol emperor and conqueror discussed as a historical figure lacking a worthy biographical film despite his dramatic li...

Flowers for Algernon (book) 4 — Referenced as a metaphor for feeling like a mouse in a psychological experiment being tortured and experiencing mental d...

Parker Posey (person) 4 — Actress in The White Lotus who plays a character married to a douchebag finance professional portrayed by Jason Isaacs.

Jordan Belfort (person) 4 — Finance criminal whose life was portrayed in The Wolf of Wall Street, noted for establishing a career based on being a f...

Try Guys (person) 4 — YouTube content creators discussed in context of a cheating scandal and public outrage, criticized for delivering an ove...

Thomas Kinkade (person) 4 — Artist whose work is invoked as an example of kitsch that gets blended with Marvel to create bad fantasy writing

We Need to Talk About Kevin (film) 4 — Film exploring a deeply troubled mother-son relationship complicated by unplanned pregnancy and maternal resentment, cul...

Steve Buscemi (person) 4 — Actor discussed in the context of his role as Tony B in The Sopranos, with a focus on unexpected physical attraction to ...

Reuters (place) 4 — News agency mentioned as one of many sources required to keep up with current affairs, contributing to information overl...

r/collapse (place) 4 — Reddit community for people fantasizing about societal collapse, criticized for dwelling on infrastructure failures

Marcus Aurelius (person) 4 — Roman emperor and Stoic philosopher whose writings about living as if already dead are referenced by a suicidal person s...

Naperville (place) 4 — Affluent Chicago suburb used ironically to represent American centrism and privilege when dismissing struggles in other ...

iPhone (concept) 4 — Transformative consumer technology device that fundamentally changed how people interact with the internet and each othe...

Colleen Hoover (person) 4 — A popular author whose books dominate Barnes and Noble displays, emblematic of the store's shift toward TikTok-driven co...

Concerta (concept) 4 — ADHD medication referenced in context of people defending their amphetamine use in response to a New York Times article ...

Aliens (film) 4 — James Cameron film praised for its extensive use of practical effects including sets, power loader mech-suit, and xenomo...

Ryuichi Sakamoto (person) 4 — Japanese musician and composer whose work the poster avoids discussing with women due to the ick factor of Japanese cult...

Shia Labeouf (person) 4 — Actor and performance artist who created the He Will Not Divide Us project that became a site of online/offline politica...