MASSACHUSETTS
Boston Globe

By Ty Burr GLOBE STAFF DECEMBER 13, 2015

Somewhere along the line, Boston has become Hollywood shorthand for colorful thuggishness. We’ve been living with that, for better and for worse, for a few decades now. But the tide may be changing.

The newspaper drama “Spotlight” has racked up a number of year-end critics’ awards — including, as of this week, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, the Golden Globe nominations, and (surprise, surprise) the Boston Society of Film Critics. It continues to be considered a best picture Oscar front-runner by those who prognosticate. In one important aspect, though, Tom McCarthy’s film has already achieved a solid win.

It has taken the Boston movie away from the bad boys and given it back to the rest of us.

Here’s the thing. Two interlocked aspects make our corner of the world different from other American cities: institutionalism and…