Stereotypes In No Way Out

There are specific sociological leanings in the 1950's movie "NO Way Out" such as Alienation and Anomie, which deals with the issues of race and power through the story of Dr. Luther Brooks, the first African-American doctor at an urban county hospital. Although he passes the medical board exam with an “A” grade, he lacks self-confidence, and he requests to work as a junior resident at the hospital, and he trains for another year. Johnny and Ray Biddle, brothers who were both shot in the leg by a policeman as they attempted a robbery, are brought to the hospital's prison ward. As Luther tends to the disoriented Johnny, he is bombarded with racist slurs by older brother Ray, who grew up in Beaver Canal, the white working-class section of the

Ray immediately starts to blame Brooks for his brother's death, because he believes Brooks is inferior, based on his ethnicity. Ray's verbal attacks on his abilities based on race leave Brooks wondering if Ray's antagonism may have caused him to be careless, inadvertently causing Johnny’s death. Luther requests an autopsy to clear his conscious and restore his self-confidence, but Dr. Wharton, Chief of Staff, an ally of Brooks, informs him that according to state law, they cannot proceed without the permission of the deceased's family. This chain of events leads Brooks to surrender himself to the police for the murder of Johnny, and a subsequent autopsy leads to his vindication. However, his vindication does not come before a riot erupts between the blacks and whites, both of whom see themselves as defenders of their own

If applying a “Sociological Analysis” to the plot, it is evident that the movie "No Way Out" is using Brook’s story of alienation, and anomie to showcase the effects of racism in American society. The movie "No Way Out" uses alienation as a way to demonstrate how racism effects and creates the conflict of self-doubt and the lack self-confidence in the victims of racism. The audience sees this conflict throughout the film as at the beginning of the movie; Dr. Brooks has so little confidence that he wishes to stay on in a subordinate position rather than venturing out on his own path. He constantly seeks the approval of his superiors as a means of reassuring himself, and he hopes others will see that he is capable. In several scenes Brooks is in a struggle with himself, seeking out others to prove his competency. Brooks seeks the advice from his mentor after he is accused of killing Johnny Biddle by Johnny’s racist brother. He wants reassurances that the racist’s accusations are not true, which is why he so desperately wants an autopsy. Also, in the scene where Brooks is operating on Ray, he cleverly places the scalpel in Brook's pocket. Once the nurse notices the missing scalpel, Brooks immediately calls his superiors for help to respond to the situation. He hopes he can prove to the entire hospital that