Stereotypes In 'Dead Man Walking'

Dead Man Walking is a 1995 Tim Robbins’ movie based on the eponym non-fiction work of Sister Helen Prejean, starring Susan Sarandon and Sean Penn. We follow in it the story of the nun who become the spiritual adviser of Matthew Poncelet, a prisoner on death row, after having established a special relation with him, but also Matthew Poncelet himself and Poncelet victims’ parents. As the Chaplain Farlely says at the beginning of the movie, “No Jimmy Cagney ''l've been wrongly accused. lf l only had someone who believed in me'' nonsense. They are all con men.”, the audience know somehow that Poncelet is guilty: the movie is not based on a criminal case but on the evolution of the characters through it. Accused of two teenager’s murder, Matthew Poncelet is established as an arrogant, antipathetic, unscrupulous character and he is patronizing with the Sister, who tries to help him because he asked her. Through his discussions with the nun and reports in the media, he appears also racist, sexist and pro-Nazi. However, a
They once accepted to talk with Sister Helen, but once they discovered that she remains on Poncelet’s side, they asked her to get out of their house. When finally Poncelet is executed, the Percy almost asks for apologies.
After the death of their son, Walter, the Delacroix react differently. While his mother wants to move on, his father, Earl, needs to stay in contact with him, for example by staying in the same house where he grew up. These different visions of morning led to a divorce application. As Sister Helen tries to make Poncelet pardon, Earl Delacroix appears first as an outraged man, but more the movie goes on and more the audience sees that in fact he understands the nun’s choice. After having seen Poncelet’s funeral, he is joined by Sister Helen and if at first he says not knowing why he came, he finally prays with