What comes to mind when you think of the Bronx?

Subways covered in graffiti, streets littered with trash, gangs roaming in hoodies, alleys that even the police hesitate to enter at night.

If you've seen a few American movies, this is probably the image that comes to mind.

Even someone who has never been to the Bronx thinks they know what kind of neighborhood it is. Hollywood has been very generous in teaching us.

The problem is that the Bronx depicted in those movies is mostly a reflection of decades-old realities.

Of course, it's true that the Bronx was dangerous in the past. The South Bronx in the 1970s and 80s was indeed serious.

Unemployment was high, buildings were abandoned, and arson incidents were frequent. Some landlords set fire to their own buildings to collect insurance money.

There's a famous phrase that became popular during the 1977 New York Yankees World Series broadcast.

"The Bronx is Burning."

This meant that the Bronx was on fire.

Interestingly, while the buildings that were burning back then have disappeared, the image of the Bronx as a burning place still lives on.

It's been almost 50 years. At this point, we should acknowledge Hollywood's brand management skills.

If you watch the 1979 movie , New York is truly a gang paradise.

It's entertaining as a film. However, if you think you learned about the real New York from it, that's a bit problematic.

It's similar to making a movie set in the back alleys of Cheongnyangni or Yeongdeungpo in the 1980s and believing that Seoul is still like that in 2026.

Netflix's showcased a different Bronx.

It dealt with the hip-hop and DJ culture, graffiti, and breakdancing that developed in the South Bronx during the 1970s.

A global pop culture was born in a neighborhood that American society pointed fingers at as poor and dangerous.

Now, young people around the world listen to hip-hop, and famous brands are selling street culture.

When the neighborhood was poor, it was labeled a hotbed of crime, but now the culture that emerged from there has suddenly become a great cultural heritage.

However, in movies, such distinctions don't seem to matter much.

Whenever the name Bronx comes up, the atmosphere has to be made tough right away.

If you want to show the wealthy of New York, you shoot penthouses in Manhattan, and if you want to show romantic young people, you shoot cafes in Brooklyn.

And if you need criminals or gangs, you just go to the Bronx. Each neighborhood has its assigned role.

Perhaps from Hollywood's perspective, there's no need to change this.

A dangerous Bronx will sell much better as a movie subject than an ordinary residential area.