Red Scare Canon — Cultural References from the Subreddit

Lyndon Johnson (person) 4 — U.S. President discussed as both a mass killer through the Vietnam War and the greatest champion of civil rights in Amer...

Gulliver's Travels (book) 4 — Western literary work contrasted with classical Chinese texts to show the difference in intellectual demands between Wes...

Dracula (person) 4 — Ballet production featuring theatrics, makeup, wardrobe, choreography, and pyrotechnics that provided an impressive thea...

Eva Hesse (person) 4 — German-born American sculptor who worked with unconventional materials like latex and died young at 34, creating works t...

Boston Marathon bombing (concept) 4 — Terrorist attack discussed in context of true crime culture's problematic sympathy for perpetrators over victims.

Steven Pinker (person) 4 — Cognitive psychologist and author associated with the view that everything is fine and progress is being made, with conn...

Banshees of Inisherin (film) 4 — Film about cutting off friends that spoke directly to viewer's personal situation during depressive episode.

Michael Scott (person) 4 — Fictional character from The Office used as an example of a terrible boss in a discussion about applying purity tests to...

Michelle Pfeiffer (person) 4 — Actress whose performance in Scarface was praised as very abject in an understated way with a majestic eruption at the d...

Built to Spill (album) 4 — Indie rock band from Boise, Idaho, mentioned as part of the mid-1990s Pacific Northwest indie music scene despite geogra...

Men In Black (film) 4 — Film referenced for a scene where a character drinks sugar water, used as metaphor for soda consumption.

Blur (album) 4 — A British rock band from the 1990s Britpop era, discussed for the attractive appearance of its members.

Bucharest (place) 4 — Romanian capital city where the author met a young man while working remotely.

Rainer Werner Fassbinder (person) 4 — Gay German film director whose 1981 film Lola was selected as an option for a gay-themed movie club discussion

Todd Haynes (person) 4 — Gay film director whose 1995 film Safe was selected as an option for a gay-themed movie club discussion

Nancy Sinatra (person) 4 — Singer and daughter of Frank Sinatra, discussed in relation to her father's mob connections and Lana Del Rey's early per...

Come and See (film) 4 — Soviet war film praised as an amazing movie that depicts the brutality of the Eastern Front without glorifying war, cont...

Louis-Ferdinand Céline (person) 4 — French novelist and author of Journey to the End of the Night, cited as a top favorite novelist.

The Wall (album) 4 — Pink Floyd album held up as the standard of 'real art' that contemporary artists are challenged to match

Sadie Sink (person) 4 — Actress in The Whale whose performance was criticized as 'unbearable' and resembling high school theater.

Coraline (film) 4 — Stop-motion animated film by Laika cited as example of artistically valuable but unprofitable work enabled by old money.

Joker 2 (film) 4 — A sequel film featuring the Joker character that depicts violent content including the character being raped in prison b...

Elementary Particles (book) 4 — Novel by Michel Houellebecq featuring a protagonist named Djerzinski who is paralyzed by inability to act on romantic fe...

Three Six Mafia (album) 4 — Memphis hip hop group praised as one of the best musical groups of all time for creating a unique style that still influ...

Tom Clancy (person) 4 — Thriller author whose post-Cold War output is cited as exemplifying the schizophrenic search for enemies during the End ...

Rob Zombie (person) 4 — Musician whose music was blasting from a monster truck in a liquor store parking lot at 9:30 AM

The Martian (film) 4 — Film about a stranded astronaut that prompted reflection on real astronauts currently stuck in space who receive minimal...

Citizens United (concept) 4 — Supreme Court decision criticized in connection with corporate lobbying and erosion of rationality in American culture.

Kingdom of Heaven (film) 4 — Mid-2000s historical action drama with anachronistic modern liberal values, part of a genre discussed as benevolent prop...

The Last Samurai (film) 4 — Historical action film watched with viewer's father that triggered reflection on gender limitations in combat roles.

E.M. Forster (person) 4 — Author who wrote 'The Machine Stops' in 1909, a prescient dystopian story about technology dependence and social isolati...

Debbie Harry (person) 4 — The singer of Blondie, mentioned as the compelling focus of the band's music video for 'Hanging On The Telephone'.

Medium (place) 4 — Publishing platform that exploits free labor, offered a writer $24.80 after extensive edits removed everything interesti...

Metropolitan (film) 4 — Film by Whit Stillman that the director referred to as his 'goody-goody magnum opus' at a Chicago screening

The Band (person) 4 — American-Canadian rock group mentioned as a possible third most essentially American band after Springsteen and CCR.

Pierre-Auguste Renoir (person) 4 — Impressionist painter whose work 'Luncheon of the Boating Party' (1881) is celebrated as one of the greatest Impressioni...

Duke (place) 4 — University cited as example of dramatically decreased acceptance rates alongside UCLA in college admissions discussion.

Trump Derangement Syndrome (concept) 4 — A term used to describe an excessive preoccupation with Donald Trump and politics, particularly among liberal-leaning in...

Mark Ames (person) 4 — Journalist and founder of muckraking Moscow newspaper who faced persecution from both U.S. and Russian governments

Shaun King (person) 4 — Activist whose racial identity is questioned, with discussion of whether rumors about him being white are far-right prop...

Cleopatra (person) 4 — Historical Egyptian figure cited as one reason for Ancient Egypt's greater popularity compared to Mesopotamia.

Albania (place) 4 — Country where a story of a wolf and donkey forming a trauma bond while in captivity took place

Dark Souls (film) 4 — A video game series mentioned as an example of games that consume significant amounts of time, with one player logging 1...

Theodore Roosevelt (person) 4 — Former US president featured in an Epic Rap Battles of History episode that inspired the author's career in filmmaking.

Gregg Araki (person) 4 — Filmmaker who criticized Euphoria for depicting teen life as miserable without joy, contrasting it with his own early wo...

Kids (film) 4 — 1995 film praised as 'damn good' featuring Chloe Sevigny as an inexperienced actress who delivered a stunning performanc...

Levi's (concept) 4 — Denim brand whose 501 jeans are now priced at around $80, prompting commentary on the rising cost of jeans.

Superman (film) 4 — A new superhero film featuring a meta-commentary scene about online criticism and the Snyderverse.

Hyperpop (concept) 4 — Music genre criticized as 'some of the worst music ever created' and associated with algorithm-driven social media rathe...

RBG (person) 4 — Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Supreme Court Justice mentioned as having controversial takes about Colin Kaepernick's kneeling pro...