The Western: New Life for an Old Genre?

"With True Grit crossing the $100 million mark at the box office, the Western, often given up for dead, appears to be back.

"Black hats, white hats, guns, a frontier code of honor, big-sky country — all have been Hollywood staples since at least 1903, when The Great Train Robbery sent gunslingers galloping across the plains of New Jersey." -- Bob Mondello @ NPR.

STTA. Film Westerns have been one of the distinctive creations of 20th-century American culture, even if their appeal has reached far across our borders. In the story quoted from above, Mondello lists 5 classic Westerns. How do you explain the enduring appeal of this genre for American audiences?