Red Scare Canon — Cultural References from the Subreddit

Vermeer (person) 4 — Dutch master painter whose works were among those stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in 1990

Lauren Oyler (person) 4 — Writer and critic profiled for her critical opinions on contemporary culture, including Harvard, Israel, AOC, and intern...

Roadside Picnic (book) 4 — A science fiction novel that was adapted into a Tarkovsky film and is noted for its differences from the movie adaptatio...

Fergie (person) 4 — Singer from The Black Eyed Peas known for performing controversial lyrics in the original version of 'Let's Get It Start...

Warsaw (place) 4 — Polish capital city discussed in the context of corporate capitalism overwhelming local artisanal products.

Pablo Neruda (person) 4 — Chilean poet who wrote 'Ode to the Cat', a meditation on feline independence and mystery that explores themes of knowled...

Samuel Delany (person) 4 — Sci-fi author praised as the sole exception who can write good sex scenes, noted for writing gay content.

Daniel Johnston (person) 4 — Outsider musician known for his lo-fi recordings featuring weird voices, skits, organs, and low quality production, comp...

ACT (concept) 4 — Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, mentioned as one of several therapeutic approaches that proved ineffective for the po...

Deafheaven (album) 4 — A band that transitioned from black metal to shoegaze on their new album, described as 'pure shoegaze bliss.'

A Portrait of The Artist As a Young Man (book) 4 — Novel by James Joyce, referenced as inspiration for a writer planning to quit their job to write a similar work about au...

Philip Roth (person) 4 — American novelist whose biography was withdrawn by Norton after sexual abuse allegations against the biography's author ...

Charles Darwin (person) 4 — Scientist cited for positing that social emotions like guilt and pride evolved among social primates in a discussion abo...

Shania Twain (person) 4 — Country music artist referenced in a sarcastic critique of her song 'That Don't Impress Me Much' for dismissing accompli...

mid90s (film) 4 — Jonah Hill film portraying how kids acted in the 1990s, criticized online for use of slurs despite being accurate to the...

Catch-22 (book) 4 — Film praised as rare exception to the rule that all war films are exciting, encapsulating the disillusionment and confus...

The Piano Teacher (film) 4 — A film shot in cinema vérité style referenced as a superior approach to depicting a violent revenge narrative compared t...

Hypernormalisation (concept) 4 — A state where political theater becomes performative and empty, with participants aware they are not protesting to prote...

Rainer Maria Rilke (person) 4 — Poet who wrote Letters to a Young Poet, emphasizing solitude as essential for difficult work and human existence, and of...

Rian Johnson (person) 4 — Filmmaker who received $600 million from Netflix to make the Knives Out movies, cited as an example of questionable stre...

Joan Baez (person) 4 — Folk singer and activist discussed in relation to her relationship with Bob Dylan and song 'Diamonds and Rust'

Mark Ruffalo (person) 4 — Actor in Poor Things who is criticized for doing a Stewie Griffin-like voice throughout the film

Tyler Perry (person) 4 — A filmmaker whose work, specifically Diary of a Mad Black Woman, is referenced as a character comparison.

American Idol (film) 4 — Reality television singing competition show mentioned in connection with Kellie Pickler who was escorted by a mass shoot...

Syriana (film) 4 — A GWB-era film about oil, violence, and conspiracy that depicts the depravity of the Cheney administration's policies wi...

The Brian Jonestown Massacre (album) 4 — A 90s psych prog rock band praised as an ideal Red Scare band, led by the volatile Anton Newcombe who would fight audien...

Michael Parenti (person) 4 — Political theorist and leftist scholar who passed away at 92, whose 'Yellow Lecture' politically radicalized the poster ...

Under Armour (concept) 4 — Brand compared to another brand as being stereotypically associated with military and first responders aesthetic

Kyle MacLachlan (person) 4 — Actor in Blue Velvet whose character's romance with Laura Dern drew audience criticism at a Chicago screening.

Blowback (album) 4 — A podcast series with a highly acclaimed first season on the Iraq War, with subsequent seasons covering Afghanistan and ...

Law & Order (film) 4 — Long-running crime procedural TV series discussed in the context of its aging cast and the depressing permanence of acto...

Andrea Long Chu (person) 4 — Writer and critic whose work is discussed with skepticism regarding their Pulitzer-worthy status and perceived self-cent...

Isabella Rossellini (person) 4 — Actress and model featured in a 1987 Vanity Fair photo shoot with David Lynch.

The Wrestler (film) 4 — Film starring Mickey Rourke that The Last Showgirl is compared to, praised for having legitimate story and character dev...

Casino (film) 4 — Martin Scorsese film referenced as benchmark for Robert De Niro's performances

Frances McDormand (person) 4 — Actress considered uniquely unsuited to play Lady Macbeth in what feels like a masturbatory choice by the Coen brothers.

Kieran Culkin (person) 4 — An actor praised for his phenomenal performance as Roman in Succession, particularly in a meltdown scene at a funeral.

The Bling Ring (film) 4 — Film that inspired a Tumblr subculture of lifting (shoplifting) enthusiasts who posted actively from 2013-15.

Isaac Asimov (person) 4 — Science fiction author referenced in discussion of technology appearing as magic to people from earlier time periods.

Joe DiMaggio (person) 4 — Baseball player whose relationship with Marilyn Monroe is characterized as early celebrity corporate synergy

Richard Spencer (person) 4 — White nationalist figure who has allegedly shifted from supporting Trump to praising Biden as the best US president of h...

King Solomon (person) 4 — Biblical figure referenced by a NEET who relates to Solomon's wisdom and weariness as expressed in Ecclesiastes, desirin...

The Downward Spiral (album) 4 — An album by Nine Inch Nails that the poster defends against accusations of being 'edgy teenager shit,' arguing it resona...

Jules Verne (person) 4 — French novelist cited by Fitzgerald as one of the cultural inventors of WWI through his influence on middle-class imagin...

Raskolnikov (person) 4 — The protagonist of Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment, referenced as embodying guilt and psychological burden.

Giotto (person) 4 — Italian painter and architect from the early Renaissance featured in a post showcasing various paintings and drawings

House of the Rising Sun (album) 4 — One of the most covered songs of all time, famously performed by The Animals, discussed as needing a contemporary reinte...

Miley Cyrus (person) 4 — A pop musician and former Disney star criticized as a nepo baby who chose vulgar subversion over meaningful artistic dev...

Saoirse Ronan (person) 4 — Irish actress praised for her beauty in a specific movie still with particular hair and time period styling.

Star Trek: The Next Generation (film) 4 — TV series (abbreviated as TNG) referenced as an example of uncool behavior from forty years ago that has since become no...