History Main / Southies

* Of course, ''Southie'', starring [[Music/NewKidsOnTheBlock Donnie Wahlberg]]. Memorably had a tagline which claimed that our fair neighborhood was "the most dangerous city in America!" Yeah... no.

* ''Film/TheForbiddenKingdom.'' Yes, you'd be excused if you thought this was [[NeverTrustATrailer an action fantasy set entirely in ancient China]] [[JustHereForGodzilla starring Jet Li and Jackie Chan]]. Well, there is also a [[TheScrappy Modern-Day Young, White, Male]] [[CulturalTranslation American Character]] who was evidently only in the story to get the plot moving and for [[YouSuck the audience]] (who would be surely be [[ViewersAreMorons confused and enraged]] by a story set in ancient China with an all-Asian cast) [[YouSuck to relate to]]. Now, of all the arbitrary American cities this character could have hailed from...

The good folks of UsefulNotes/{{Boston}} hope that Hollywood will eventually stop assuming that [[BigApplesauce fun things can only happen in New York City]], and that someday we will get a movie set in Boston about sunshine and happy music and cute puppies and basically ''anything'' other than the mob, violent crime, [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking Harvard]], and so on. Expect this to be an increasingly common complaint if economically minded filmmakers follow the trail of ''Theatre/TheWomen'' (2008) and start using "Boston Doubling" for scenes ''set in UsefulNotes/NewYorkCity''. Ouch.

* Though ''Film/TheFighter'' takes place in Lowell, Massachusetts, the Southie stereotype is in full force. It probably doesn't help that Mark Wahlberg is the star.

That said, we must ''strongly'' caution readers against wearing ''anything'' with a New York Yankees logo when visiting [[SeriousBusiness anywhere in the upper-right hand corner]] of the [=USA=]. Wearing orange in South Boston, especially on St. Patrick's Day, is [[TheTroubles also not a very smart thing to do]]. (Oh, you're free to wear it... just wear something else over it. Like [[FanDumb body armor]].) Also, if you see a lawn chair in a parking space, ''don't touch it''.

* "Southies" has become something of an inside joke here, due to the YKTTW for "Southies" having had no text other than "SelfExplanatory". That led to the page "NotSelfExplanatory" and similar "it's not obvious to everyone" examples.

In fiction, this mostly [[{{Oireland}} Irish]]-[[TheIrishDiaspora American]] neighborhood and its [[HollywoodNewEngland still-distinct accent]] continue to be associated with [[TheIrishMob organized crime]] and dollar donations to "freedom fighters" whose bombs happen out of sight and out of mind on the [[TheTroubles other side of the Atlantic]]. Providence, Rhode Island is usually mentioned to suggest scope. It might be the base of a rival syndicate. As a general rule, they're put in opposition in fiction as Providence has a strong Italian-American background, so [[SarcasmMode obviously it's a hotbed for]] TheMafia.

--->'''Series/{{NCIS}}''', ''Sub Rosa''

--->'''{{NCIS}}''', ''Sub Rosa''

The good folks of UsefulNotes/{{Boston}} hope that Hollywood will eventually stop assuming that [[BigApplesauce fun things can only happen in New York City]], and that someday we will get a movie set in Boston about sunshine and happy music and cute puppies and basically ''anything'' other than the mob, violent crime, [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking Harvard]], and so on. Expect this to be an increasingly common complaint if economically minded filmmakers follow the trail of ''TheWomen'' (2008) and start using "Boston Doubling" for scenes ''set in NewYorkCity''. Ouch.

* Referenced a lot in ''TheDeparted''.
* In ''GoodWillHunting'', the title character and his friends are Southies.
* Of course, ''Southie'', starring [[NewKidsOnTheBlock Donnie Wahlberg]]. Memorably had a tagline which claimed that our fair neighborhood was "the most dangerous city in America!" Yeah... no.
* ''TheBoondockSaints'' depicts a pair of Southies who decide to "clean the place up" with a [[MoreDakka liberal application of gunfire.]]

** Affleck's next film, ''TheTown'', also features much of the same Southie elements as ''Gone Baby Gone'' did.
* ''TheForbiddenKingdom.'' Yes, you'd be excused if you thought this was [[NeverTrustATrailer an action fantasy set entirely in ancient China]] [[JustHereForGodzilla starring Jet Li and Jackie Chan]]. Well, there is also a [[TheScrappy Modern-Day Young, White, Male]] [[CulturalTranslation American Character]] who was evidently only in the story to get the plot moving and for [[YouSuck the audience]] (who would be surely be [[ViewersAreMorons confused and enraged]] by a story set in ancient China with an all-Asian cast) [[YouSuck to relate to]]. Now, of all the arbitrary American cities this character could have hailed from...
* Though ''TheFighter'' takes place in Lowell, Massachusetts, the Southie stereotype is in full force. It probably doesn't help that MarkWahlberg is the star.

* Dr. Donald Westphall of ''StElsewhere'' is a Southie.
* ''{{Fringe}}'' is set in the Boston area. Of course, some might not describe what's going on in that show fun...

** These accents get exchanged fairly often, possibly because they're both poor neighborhoods with stereotypes set in the 1800s by Irish immigrants. Example: The Dark Knight trilogy has a bunch of cops with on-par-with-reality, unexaggerated, Boston accents.

* Speaking of NewKidsOnTheBlock, we probably ought to mention their infamous BandToon here, but... [[TheyJustDidntCare its writers just didn't care.]]

* ''Film/GoneBabyGone'' is about Southie and certainly features many of the crime elements, but is more accurate than most, as Ben Affleck, who was actually raised in Cambridge, MA, and actively tried to get people who really lived there to contribute with the film.

In fiction, this mostly [[{{Oireland}} Irish]]-[[TheIrishDiaspora American]] neighborhood and its [[HollywoodNewEngland still-distinct accent]] continue to be associated with organized crime, dollar donations to "freedom fighters" whose bombs happen out of sight and out of mind on the [[TheTroubles other side of the Atlantic]]. Providence, Rhode Island is usually mentioned to suggest scope. It might be the base of a rival syndicate. As a general rule, they're put in opposition in fiction as Providence has a strong Italian-American background, so [[SarcasmMode obviously it's a hotbed for]] TheMafia.

The real Southie is, in actuality, much less dangerous than in years past. Currently, a surprisingly large portion of the population consists of... [[BoringButPractical Yuppies]]. As with New Englanders in general, Southie folk are really nice people -- on the ten or fifteen days a year when it isn't freezing cold or blisteringly hot outside.

Incidentally, no two Boston residents will agree exactly where Southie begins and ends. Is the Waterfront part of Southie? How about Dorchester? Is Dorchester "really" part of Boston or is it a suburb? What about the other suburbs? Have we put way too much thought into this? (Note that the actual compass direction "South" hardly factors in.) In fact, many residents feel that "Southie" and "South Boston" are two different areas, with Southie being a tight knit Irish community and South Boston being the yuppie area right next to it[[note]] Never confuse the two areas in front of someone from Southie, it's a bit of a BerserkButton, and don't even ''try'' to compare it to [[{{Gayborhood}} the South End]][[/note]]. The short version is "if you're in Boston and surrounded by working-class Irish, you're in Southie."

* In The BlackDaggerBrotherhood novels, Butch is an Irish-American cop from Southie who chain smokes, drinks scotch, consorts with whores, occasionally indulges in police brutality ([[KickTheSonOfABitch though few object]]) and otherwise tries to fulfill every applicable stereotype he can think of. Then [[AndThenJohnWasAZombie he finds out he's a vampire]].

In fiction, this mostly [[{{Oireland}} Irish]]-[[TheIrishDiaspora American]] neighborhood and its [[HollywoodNewEngland still-distinct accent]] continue to be associated with organized crime. Providence, Rhode Island is usually mentioned to suggest scope. It might be the base of a rival syndicate. As a general rule, they're put in opposition in fiction as Providence has a strong Italian-American background, so [[SarcasmMode obviously it's a hotbed for]] TheMafia.

* ''GoneBabyGone'' is about Southie and certainly features many of the crime elements, but is more accurate than most, as Ben Affleck, who was actually raised in Cambridge, MA, and actively tried to get people who really lived there to contribute with the film.

Incidentally, no two Boston residents will agree exactly where Southie begins and ends. Is the Waterfront part of Southie? How about Dorchester? Is Dorchester "really" part of Boston or is it a suburb? What about the other suburbs? Have we put way too much thought into this? (Note that the actual compass direction "South" hardly factors in.) In fact, many residents feel that "Southie" and "South Boston" are two different areas, with Southie being a tight knit Irish community and South Boston being the yuppie area right next to it[[hottip:*: Never confuse the two areas in front of someone from Southie, it's a bit of a BerserkButton, and don't even ''try'' to compare it to [[{{Gayborhood}} the South End]]]]. The short version is "if you're in Boston and surrounded by working-class Irish, you're in Southie."

* In ''GoodWillHunting'', the titular character and his friends are Southies.

* Faith Lehane from ''BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' is a Southie. But the actress playing her, Eliza Dushku, was raised in Watertown, a city near Boston, and isn't.
** One of Echo's imprinted personalities in ''{{Dollhouse}}'', Jordan (a backup singer and secret bodyguard for a pop star) claims to be a Southie as well - and is also played by Dushku.
* ''{{NCIS}}'' provides the page quote while interviewing a standard suspect who's just there to give a few facts about the case. The actor doesn't actually have a Southie accent. [[spoiler:Because he's the impostor]].

** These accents get exchanged fairly often. Example: The Dark Knight trilogy has a bunch of cops with on-par-with-reality, unexaggerated, Boston accents.

** These accents get exchanged fairly often. Example: The Dark Knight trilogy has a bunch of cops with pretty good Boston accents.

** And it starred his brother Ben.

* Speaking of NewKidsOnTheBlock, we probably ought to mention their infamous BandToon here, but... [[TheyJustDidntCare it's writers just didn't care.]]

In fiction, this mostly [[{{Oireland}} Irish]]-[[TheIrishDiaspora American]] neighborhood and its [[HollywoodNewEngland still-distinct accent]] continue to be associated with organized crime. Providence, Rhode Island is usually mentioned to suggest scope. It might be the base of a rival syndicate. As a general rule, they're put in opposition in fiction as Providence has a strong Italian-American background, so obviously it's a hotbed for TheMafia.

In fiction, this mostly [[{{Oireland}} Irish]]-[[TheIrishDiaspora American]] neighborhood and its [[HollywoodNewEngland still-distinct accent]] continue to be associated with organized crime. Providence, Rhode Island is usually mentioned to suggest scope. It might be the base of a rival syndicate.

That said, we must ''strongly'' caution readers against wearing ''anything'' with a New York Yankees logo when visiting [[SeriousBusiness anywhere in the upper-right hand corner]] of the [=USA=]. Wearing orange in South Boston, especially on St. Patrick's Day, is [[TheTroubles also not a very smart thing to do]]. (Oh, you're free to wear it... just wear something else over it. Like [[FanDumb body armor]].)

* Speaking of NewKidsOnTheBlock, we probably ought to mention their infamous BandToon here, but... [[TheyJustDidntCare it's writers Just Didn't Care.]]

* The stereotypically brash and violent young Scout from ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'' is from Southie, according to Valve. He somewhat inexplicably has a [[BrooklynRage Brooklyn accent]], though.