Why Boston Is Always The Scene Of The Crime In Media

The Drama. 56 Days. Ginny & Georgia. It Ends With Us. Breakup songs by Reneé Rapp, Gracie Abrams, Tate McRae, Chappell Roan, and probably others.

What’s the common denominator here, you ask? Not the violence, not the exes… yeah, it’s Boston. And more specifically: the quiet evil energy lurking beneath the city’s aesthetically charming New England veneer. “How'd you make me hate Boston / The whole thing is haunted,” Reneé croons in a passionate ballad about Boston trauma. “I took a train to Boston and I wanted to cry,” Gracie whisper-sings in “Tough Love.” I mean, fair.

It may be a coincidence that seemingly every pop girl under the sun has penned lyrics about nightmarish characters from Boston, or that there are so many particularly dark films and TV shows set in the area. (Zendaya and Robert Pattinson’s controversial A24 film is the latest addition to the list.) But as a Massachusetts native who ditched a Gilmore Girls-esque Boston suburb for Bushwick, I can confirm the Greater Boston area has an intrinsic sinister vibe. I fear I’m only half joking.

To thoroughly understand Boston’s role in modern media, we’ll need to psychoanalyze her. I took a psych class in high school once, so there’s no one more qualified for the job.

First of all, there are a lot of repressed people walking around Boston, because it’s literally illegal to let loose. Did you know that Massachusetts is the only state where happy hour is banned? No happiness and cheap drinks with coworkers allowed. If you’ve ever explored “nightlife” in Boston, you know every venue closes early because of the statewide ban on alcohol sales after 2am. (And MBTA bus and train lines stop running after 1am, so your only salvation at that point is an overpriced Uber.)

Even the state senate recognizes there’s a major no fun allowed issue. “Massachusetts broadly has a bit of a reputation for being a not fun place, so I think we have to do a little work there,” Sen. Julian Cyr acknowledged to NBC Boston in 2024. Hey, they say the first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem.

Then, there’s the conformity olympics phenomenon. Boston is not a city where loud personal expression thrives… You’ll feel awkward and judged, or at least very conspicuous, if you don’t match the sea of Vineyard Vines yacht party fits, Red Sox and Bruins gear, or the studying-all-night sweatpants. The black or white crop top and jeans combo is practically the only acceptable uniform for going out on the town with your girls.

I chuckled at Hunter Harris’ declaration: “The most unrealistic part of the drama is that there is a couple that beautiful just walking around Boston.” (I would add that the most unrealistic part of 56 Days is that there’s a couple like Dove Cameron and Avan Jogia just walking around Boston.)

Another actually really bad thing Boston is known for? Being racist. According to a national survey by The Boston Globe, out of eight major cities, Black respondents ranked Boston as least welcoming to people of color — 54 percent described it as unwelcoming. The same article notes that Black residents of Greater Boston have a median net worth of $8, and that Black unemployment is double that of white residents.

Needless to say, there are thousands of Rachels (from The Drama) infecting the city. Insufferable, performatively progressive white people who are quick to make problematic comments about their partners or friends (like randomly assuming a Black partner grew up around guns). A biracial Black teen like Ginny (from Ginny & Georgia) would face constant microaggressions in a Boston suburb, as Ginny does in the show.

This article would be 10,000 words long if I also dove into the outrageous cost of living, the brutal winters, and the meh food scene, but you get the gist.

In The Drama, It Ends With Us, 56 Days, and Ginny & Georgia, the characters go to Boston or a Boston suburb seeking an escape, a better life. Emma’s starting a new chapter there after her extremely fucked up childhood in Louisiana. Lily escapes an abusive household in Maine to launch her new business and life in Boston. Oliver comes to Boston to leave his old, violent identity behind, and Ciara arrives chasing revenge and closure. And our fave chaotic Southern belle, Georgia, moves her family to the Boston area for a wholesome fresh start after years on the run.

Notice how none of these characters really get the happy ending they envisioned.

In the pop songs that reference Boston, the girlies seem to have gotten the hell out — they’re all singing about the city in the past tense.

With its cobblestone streets, ocean views, prestigious institutions, and progressive-on-paper populace, Boston can look like Mecca from the outside. Safe, smart, beautiful, full of possibility, etc. You might not immediately pick up on the complicated tensions simmering under the surface, but they’re there. And the gap between expectation and reality is where the stories take root.