Shane (1953) by George Stevens is a film about a gun-toting man -- neither a man of the law nor a lawless man nor a cowboy for that matter -- who comes across a frontier that is burdened with conflict and oppression largely due to the violent reign of a cattle baron named Rufus Ryker and his henchmen. In true hero form, Shane sides with the oppressed -- particularly the Starrett family but representing the homesteaders overall -- living on the frontier and becomes for the audience a sort of representative or archetypal figure of the American West. He is a good man who comes in to help those that can't help themselves. He helps them fight for the land that they call home and, in the process, helps them fight for their dreams of living a peaceful life on the frontier.

The plot centers on three people: Shane, Rufus...
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