red pill
Wake-up dose
Red pill refers to choosing to see an uncomfortable truth rather than remain in comfortable illusion, from the 1999 film *The Matrix* where the protagonist must choose between a red pill (reality) and a blue pill (ignorance).
Online, red pill has been claimed by various movements—most notably men's rights and anti-feminist communities—to describe their "awakening" to what they see as hidden truths about gender, society, or politics.
To red-pill someone is to convert them to this worldview: He got red-pilled by YouTube videos.
The term carries strong ideological baggage depending on who's using it.
Male-centric online spaces
- incelSelf-described unfuckable man
- alt-rightRacist reactionary political movement
- radicalizationShift toward extreme ideology
- conspiracyClandestine coordinated scheming
anti-feminist · extremism · recruitment · indoctrination · influencer · YouTube · subreddit · 4chan
Nineties cyberpunk franchise
- NeoPrefix denoting newness
- MorpheusGod of dreams
- unpluggingRemoving from power source
- disillusionmentBitter loss of faith
revelation · eye-opening · deprogramming · unlearning · irreversible
Without embellishment or coating
- exposéInvestigative journalism piece
- whistleblowerInsider who reports misconduct
- cover-upHiding wrongdoing from public
- deceptionIntentional misleading of others
illusion · simulation · propaganda · questioning · skepticism · agenda
Settled course of action
- irreversibleCannot be undone
- commitmentFirm pledge to act
- crossroadsMeeting of routes
- forkTined eating tool
choosing · consequence · accepting · rejecting · binary · ultimatum · Rubicon · threshold
manosphere
Male-centric online spaces
- incelSelf-described unfuckable man
- alt-rightRacist reactionary political movement
- radicalizationShift toward extreme ideology
conspiracy · anti-feminist · extremism · recruitment · indoctrination · influencer · YouTube · subreddit · 4chan · propaganda
Matrix
Nineties cyberpunk franchise
- NeoPrefix denoting newness
- MorpheusGod of dreams
- unpluggingRemoving from power source
disillusionment · revelation · eye-opening · deprogramming · unlearning · irreversible
unvarnished
Without embellishment or coating
- exposéInvestigative journalism piece
- whistleblowerInsider who reports misconduct
- cover-upHiding wrongdoing from public
deception · illusion · simulation · propaganda · questioning · skepticism · agenda
decision
Settled course of action
- irreversibleCannot be undone
- commitmentFirm pledge to act
- crossroadsMeeting of routes
fork · choosing · consequence · accepting · rejecting · binary · ultimatum · Rubicon · threshold · volition
- The MatrixNeo, Morpheus, Trinity, Agent Smith, Matrix
- Sci-Fi/Fantasywand, spell, potion, rune, incantation
- Conspiraciesconspiracy, deep state, new world order, chemtrails, flat earth
- anti-feminismanti-feminism, misogyny, male supremacy, manosphere, men's rights
- catchphrasescatchphrase, why so serious, cowabunga, good grief, yabba dabba doo
- movie propsprop guns, replicas, custom builds, set dressing, furniture
red pillblue pill
Erectile dysfunction treatment
blissful ignorance · ignorance is bliss · willful blindness · denial · head in the sand
red pillwoke
Past tense of rising from sleep
normie · conventional wisdom · blue-pilled · blue pill · NPC
red pillblue pill
Erectile dysfunction treatment
sleep · slumber · unconsciousness · obliviousness · false consciousness