Both de Heer's film, "Ten Canoes", and Weller's collection of short stories, "Going Home", portray the importance of culture and law to Aboriginal people. Culture and laws appear to be a significant part of indigenous communities, however, in Weller's short stories, these aspects seem less prominent in the daily lives of Aboriginal people. By showing a pre-contact Aboriginal society compared to Weller's post-colonial indigenous society, it's evident that the importance of culture and law have altered. Where once, the people lived within a strong community governed by strict and just laws, and culture was sustained through stories of the past and ceremonies; the audience now sees only fragments of cultural links and bonds. .
Law .
In both texts, there is a difference between the presences of laws in indigenous society. Laws seem to be much more prominent in the daily lives of the Aboriginal people in de Heer's film whereas in Weller's short stories, the presence of laws and the lawful attributes of Aboriginal people seem to have altered through time. The film "Ten Canoes" shows an indigenous tribe who don't go out of the boundaries of the strict rules that govern their behaviour. They are portrayed as extremely lawful people who are focused on maintaining peace throughout their community. In a particular scene where Ridjimiraril is getting punished for spearing another tribe's member, the narrator says that "the only thing to do was follow the law" making it appear that at there were no other options; the notion of breaking the law unfathomable by the Aboriginal people. The idea that no one is going to disobey the law is ensured as it is portrayed in the film that laws are one of the most important things to Aboriginal people; "Ridjimiraril would have a spear right through him pretty soon. But that was the law," says the narrator. It depicts that even though Ridjimiraril's punishment is brutal and harsh, he was accepting of his bleak future.
