The Joker Stairs in Da' Bronx

I have not yet seen the Joker: Origin movie and probably won't until it pops up on cable -- but it's  done quite well without my help, becoming one of the highest grossing movies ever. And this movie's done something even more impressive -- it's turned the Bronx into a major tourist site.

At one point in the movie, as the man who becomes Joker descends into madness and evil, he crazily dances down a steep, very long staircase. This scene was shot in the quiet Bronx neighborhood of Highbridge, near Jerome Avenue. It's about as far from the glamour of NYC and Hollywood as possible, it's about as far from being a tourist destination as one can imagine but, since the movie's release last month, people from around the world have been flocking to this staircase, filming themselves dancing down these now iconic steps, making Jokers out of themselves. The residents of this neighborhood are seeing a daily influx of people happily making fools of themselves, clogging up the staircase and the block its on, all in attempt to recreate cinematic glory.

Why has this happened? Why has this scene and these steps suddenly become such a cultural phenomenon that people are going far out of their way to schlep to the Bronx, find this previously anonymous staircase, and record themselves dancing down it? It must possess some kind of magic, a kind of X factor, a je ne sais quoi, that only the movies can create.

Guess I gotta see the movie!