The Searchers

There were many scenes that stood out to me in regards to how it represents traditional Western American values but the one that I thought had a bigger impact was when Martin was speaking to Laurie. This is due to the fact that it breaks a lot of the tradition in what makes a man and a woman.

We see that Martin and Laurie are speaking about their relationship to which he says: 'You know, Laurie, I was just thinking that maybe it's about time you and me started going steady, huh?' This is something that would be said by the woman traditionally as it is something that would be traditionally feminine. We can see throughout the movie how the stereotypical gender roles are being defined and how they are being changed. For example, when they were both speaking about their relationship, Laurie pushes Martin over the bench, which can typically be questioned as this is not something that would be associated with what a woman would do. This can question the myths that are normally associated with Western America, we see males that typically fall under the myths of Western America, for example - Ethan.

We see Ethan at the beginning of the movie as the scene is set with him riding towards the camera on his horse wearing a 'cowboy hat', one of the main things that you would categorize with Western America. We see him as the main protagonist demonstrating throughout the film his intelligence with the Native Americans. We see the scene when he speaks to Scar, he speaks in the native tongue, seeking justice as the typical enemy of the typical cowboy with the badge. We also see Ethan living up to typical American standards of being white. When Debbie is taken from them and they find her with the Native populace, he leaves/wants to kill her. He does say that she is one of them due to her tan from being in the sun and wearing the cultural garments the natives did. 
We see him being the typical cowboy who has trouble following him wherever he goes. This could be argued why right at the end of the film, we see him walking away from the house once he brings back Debbie and everyone goes in. We could argue that he knows that he did what he originally set out to do. He promised to bring her home and one of the traditions of being a cowboy is not breaking a promise. 

Going back to the movie, a lot of the scenes take place where the sky is blue and there is nothing/very little in the background. This is something that is typically seen throughout all Westerns and it's something that makes the movies unique and something that lives up to It's traditions. We see at times where the land becomes part of what is happening on screen, for example, when the Americans are running across the river and then natives are following, the Americans shoot at the natives crossing the river. Due to the water, it would make it harder for the natives to flee due to the force and pressure of them trying to move with the water hitting the legs of the horse. This shows the river/surroundings joining in within the shootout taking place.
We even see something similar when Ethan and Martin are sleeping. Someone is using the rocks as an advantage for height to shoot Martin and Ethan (at the time, Ethan used Martin as bait)