Academic response Several scholars have examined the role of class, religion and the cultural geography of Boston in the film. Jeffrey Herlihy-Mera observed that the residual Catholic–Protestant tensions in Boston are an important backdrop in the film, as Irish Catholics from Southie are aligned against ostensibly Protestant characters who are affiliated with Harvard and MIT. Emmett Winn has argued that character interactions show class conflict and stunted social mobility, while, similarly, David Lipset commented that class inequality is a driving subtext.
Academic response Several scholars have examined the role of class, religion and the cultural geography of Boston in the film. Jeffrey Herlihy-Mera observed that the residual Catholic–Protestant tensions in Boston are an important backdrop in the film, as Irish Catholics from Southie are aligned against ostensibly Protestant characters who are affiliated with Harvard and MIT. Emmett Winn has argued that character interactions show class conflict and stunted social mobility, while, similarly David Lipset commented tha,t class inequality is a driving subtext.