Jean believes that because the locksmith is Hispanic, tattooed, and has a shaved head, he is a gang member and will immediately sell a copy of the Cabot house key to one of his associates thereby putting the Cabot's in jeopardy once again even though he is not a menace.
While the "menace to society" archetype influences perceptions of minorities, the "manipulator" prototype influences behavior. For instance, Officer Ryan is able to influence his partner, Tom Hansen, to help him pull over the Thayers because he is senior to him. At the same time, Officer Hansen, forces himself to change his behavior to satisfy the demands of his partner. Officer Ryan's influence on his partner is not limited to the interaction with the Thayers. At the end of the film, Haggis demonstrates how Hansen's perception of minorities has been irrevocably altered when he shoots and kills Peter, whom he had been giving a ride to simply because he thought Peter was going to rob him even though there was no evidence to suggest that he would. Jean Cabot also changes...
While she demands that a second locksmith be hired to re-replace the locks because of his perceived "gang member background," she still retains a Hispanic woman as her housekeeper and allows her to not only clean the house, but also take care of her
children. Jean manipulates her behavior and perception about minority males because of who attacked her and not because she was racist. At the time, Jean needed to be able to feel secure in her home and as soon as she realizes that minorities do not pose a threat to her, and in fact are there to help her, she is able to re-align her perceptions of others.
It is through this archetype and prototype that the
audience is better able to understand the factors that influence attitudes and behavior, often to detrimental results. Archetypes and prototypes drive the film's
narrative and allow the audience to see how issues of race and social standing constantly influence the decisions people make and influence how people perceive others.
