The American Western

If you really want to understand American culture, you need to understand the American western. Movies like, High Noon, Tombstone, Wyatt Earp, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, The Man From Laredo, etc. etc. The list is endless, and many of the titles I don't remember. But the western represents something essential about American spirit. A man standing on his own against forces (usually criminals or evil men) larger than himself. High Noon is a very famous western, and one of my favorites. Many westerns glorified the west. That is, they made that time (1840-1910), and the people of that time, appear (look) to be much better than they actually were.
For instance, there were many movies made about Jesse James who was a bank robber and was reputed (known by reputation, or thought to be) to be a killer. Yet, many movies made him out to be a folk hero (a hero of the people, like Robin Hood). One of my favorites, when I first saw it, was called The Long Riders. It was about the James Gang, which included Jesse and his brother Frank, as well as the Younger Brothers, who were also famous outlaws. The movie didn't make Jesse out to be a wonderful man. But then again, it didn't make him out to be a terrible man, either. And it did make you sympathize with him.
Another of my all time favorites was a very gritty (no glorification here) western called McCabe and Mrs. Miller. It was about a con man and a prostitute who went into business together. It was perhaps the first western I saw that seemed true to what the reality of that time must have been like. The movie starred Warren Beatty and Julie Christy, who were truly amazing together on screen. They starred in many movies together after that, although I think that was the only western they did together.
I don't know exactly why, but I have always liked westerns. And I will say, that if you can understand and appreciate a western, then you have learned something about American culture.