After doing some brainstorming on characters who have broken the stereotype that their particular race/ethnicity has tagged with them. I decided to go with John Coffey from the movie "The Green Mile." I picked this character as someone who breaks racial stereotypes because he is a large black male who was found guilty of murder and is seen as a murderer black man. There was no doubt about his accusation because of his stature and skin tone, it is easy to see him as a villain.
In reality John Coffey is actually simple minded, and shy man who did not commit the murders that he was accused of. The large african american man who is so easily seen as a villain is very sensitive to the thoughts and feelings of other around him. He uses his powers to heal Tom Hanks and this shows that John is really a good person deep down. John is also viewed as "one of god's miracles" something an african american had arguably never been portrayed as in american popular culture in the 1900s.
This character is initially portrayed as a stereotypical african american murderer who without a question committed the crime. Throughout the movie through Tom Hanks eyes he becomes viewed as a godly figure and a good man. To compare to the readings of this weeks module the idea of King Kong comes to mind. John Coffey being a large black male who is accused of raping and killing two young girls is being portrayed just like king kong a large ape going after white women. John breaks this stereotype by being extremely caring, soft and not a murderer at all!
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