Westerns are the most important genre of the American film industry, a thoughtful tribute to the dawn of the great, wild American frontier. They are one of the oldest, most widespread and versatile genres and one of the classically American genres in their mythical origins. The popularity of Westerns has changed over time. Their most productive period was between the 1930s and 1960s, and more recently in the 1990s, there has been such a restoration. This original American art form focuses on the western frontier of North America. Westerns are usually set on the American frontier at some point in the latter part of the 19th century after the Civil War, in a geographically western location with romantic frontier landscapes or rocky terrain. However, Westerns could go as far back as the American colonial era or before the mid-20th century, or geographically as far back as Mexico. Countless Western films have used the Civil War, the Battle of the Alamo (1836) or the Mexican Revolution (1910) as their backdrop. The Western film genre often features the invasion of the wilderness and the subjugation of nature, for the sake of civilization. , or the elimination of indigenous territorial rights at the border. Detailed settings include lonely remote forts, ranches, the isolated farm, the saloon, the prison, the stable, the small town street, or small frontier towns that form the edges of civilization. They may also include Native American sites or villages. Films like Roy Rogers' Trigger, Gene Autry's Champion, William Boyd's Topper (Hopalong Cassidy), Lone Ranger's Silver, and Tonto's Scout exemplify these icons. Western films have also been identified as...... middle of paper... ...Works CitedBazin, Andre. What is cinema? vol. II (Translated by Hugh Gray). Berkeley: University of California Press, 1971. Buscombe, Edward (ed.). The BFI companion to the western. New York: Da Capo Press, 1991.Everson, William. The Hollywood Western. New York: Citadel Press, 1992. French, P. “Western.” CMCR/Center for Mass Communication Research (n.d.): 19 June 24, 2011 .Hardy, Phil. The Westerner. London: Aurum Press, 1983.Lund, Herta L. “Todays Embattled Cowboys.” National review. December 31, 1989. Vol.41.Issue25: 26 Ebsco Host. Hinckley Library, Powell, Wy. June 24, 2011 .Miller, Don. Hollywood Corral. New York: People's Library, 1976. Pippin, Robert. Hollywood Westerns and the American Myth: The Importance of Howard Hawks and John Ford for Political Philosophy. Yale University Press, 2010.