Boston is certainly a major city, and many of its residents are proud to call it home — whether they be long-time natives to the area, one of the many students who’ve embraced it as their college town, or recent transplants enticed by its unique allure. And while the city is rich with history, particularly from the early stages of our country’s life, as far as modern relevance goes, it’s hardly New York City or Los Angeles. That is to say that while most Americans learned about the Boston Tea Party in history class and many are attracted by its job opportunities and characteristic New England charm, it doesn’t have an immense sway on contemporary pop culture.
That’s why it’s all the more exciting for Boston residents when our city sets the scene of a major movie or is simply mentioned by a major celebrity. In light of this, I have curated a guide to some of my favorite developments in recent media and pop culture that have brought attention to Boston.
“The Drama,” the much-anticipated A24 film coming to theaters on Apr. 3 and starring Zendaya and Robert Pattinson, takes place in Boston. The stars were spotted in various parts of the city during filming in fall 2024 (Zendaya had previously been seen filming “Challengers” in Boston in 2022, though the movie was not actually set in Massachusetts). Plot details of “The Drama” were kept largely under wraps until a fake engagement announcement celebrating the upcoming marriage of Emma Harwood and Charlie Thompson (the names of Zendaya and Pattinson’s characters in the film) was included in The Boston Globe’s Living/Arts section. The creative marketing ploy quickly caught the attention of fans from Boston and well beyond.
Though actress and comedian Ayo Edebiri might be the people’s princess of Ireland, she is a true native. Born in Dorchester, Edebiri rose to fame through her roles in projects including “The Bear” and “Bottoms,” and won over fans with her quirky, charming demeanor in interviews and on red carpets. In an appearance on “Late Night with Seth Meyers,” she passionately explained the events of the Great Molasses Flood of 1919 after Meyers asked her if she could think of “things in Boston that only people from Boston care about.” Edebiri quipped, “The streets smelled of molasses in the summer for 70 years after the Great Molasses Flood; it’s nothing to laugh about!” While many viewers were unfamiliar with the story of the molasses flood, the interview garnered much attention for the somewhat niche historical event and its impact on Boston.
“Heated Rivalry,” the overnight sensation about a secret romance between two rival professional hockey players, has also brought recent attention to the city of Boston. In the TV show, Russian hockey prodigy Ilya Rozanov plays for the “Boston Raiders” (originally the “Boston Bears” in the book series). While the series does not put as much of a spotlight on Boston as it does Montreal and Ottawa (it is a Canadian production, after all), Bostonian fans have leaned into the city’s representation regardless by imagining Rozanov experiencing some of Boston’s iconic landmarks. One TikTok user jokingly wrote, “need to know if Ilya Rozanov went down the Boston Cop Slide.”
Naturally, that brings us to the viral social media clip that led to the metal slide in the Boston City Hall Plaza playground being coined the “Boston Cop Slide.” In July 2023, a Boston Police Officer sustained minor injuries after tumbling down the slide at an impressively high speed and landing facedown on the ground. The video became explosively popular on social media and has turned the slide into an amusing, if somewhat unconventional, attraction for Boston tourists.
Finally, Boston has received more than a few shoutouts in popular music. Of course, there are classics like “I’m Shipping Up to Boston,” which boasts the city in the title. But Boston has worked its way into the lyrics of more recent mainstream pop hits as well, like “Revolving Door” by Tate McRae (“I still think ‘bout that night out in Boston”), “Femininomenon” by Chappell Roan (“Should’ve listened to your friends / ‘Bout his girlfriend back in Boston”), and “I Hate Boston” by Renee Rapp (which ironically expresses the fondness she has for the city by asking an ex, “How’d you make me hate Boston?”).
Though it may be somewhat silly, there is something undeniably exciting about seeing Boston represented in popular culture and mainstream media. Those of us who live here know how special the city is in many ways, so, understandably, we take a certain level of pride when it is highlighted for reasons beyond the obvious, like the Boston Tea Party or Ben Affleck — though who doesn’t love the classics? Boston may not be the most happening city in the world, but clearly, its charm permeates our collective consciousness enough to produce some noteworthy Boston references. Hopefully, there will be plenty more to come!