This is a topic that needs very careful consideration. That is, to properly see and analyze a "social message," IMO we need to not only consider film noir but also we should take into account the same era's Westerns, such as REPRISAL! or THE SEARCHERS. The task is tricky, difficult and demanding. But the results won't validate, IMO, either NO WAY OUT or THE LAWLESS.
However, I'm not with Don regarding THE LAWLESS.
More to the point, I don't agree with Kubincanek that film noir is the genre that is where this issue can (only) be addressed. ("In the 1940s and 1950s, film noir provided a harrowing critique of American society. Going even deeper, though, was the niche subgenre of “social message” film noir.")
Which means we would have to deal with displacement (Native Americans for African Americans) to fully reckon with "a harrowing critique of American society."
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