The final scenes in which Mr Neville dictates a letter to his secretary shows the full extent of the white ignorance. He says in a clearly frustrated tone and expression. “If only they would try understand what we are trying to do for them.” This statement is quite ironic as the Aborigines do understand, but they also understand that it’s actually not the best course of action. The Aborigines have experienced both ways of life, the native ways and the white ways and they choose to live in their traditional ways with the incorporation of some white ways. Noyce shows us this through the depot where the Aborigines are given “the benefits…our (white) culture has to offer.” The whites on the other hand being ignorant do not learn or take anything from Aboriginal culture even though their ways allows them to thrive in Australia. Even basic survival techniques aren’t used by the white, which clearly shows their ignorance. For example when the girls are headed towards the desert Neville assumes “their lives are at stake” if they are not captured before they enter “real desert country.” The girls, however, know how to survive in these conditions and are not threatened. Noyce use this to show that the Aborigines do know what’s best for them.
In today’s society we implement a child welfare policy which quite similar to the stolen generation. However, it does not discriminate against race. Overall, the interest of the child is what is regarded most and any emotional trauma is minimized where possible. One of the major flaws in the stolen generation policy was its lack of thought about the emotional state of the children and their parents. Noyce shows the full extent this emotional distress has on the families when the girls are first taken from their mothers. When Constable Riggs “come from the three girls” Noyce incorporates a fast tribal drum beat music along with the hurried movement of the camera to enhance the stressful nature of policy. Maude even turns to begging Riggs saying “No! These mine kids,” but eventually they are forced into the car, because “it’s the law” and we witness them being driven of while they hold their hands together in a way similar to what prisoners do when they are being transported. The half-caste children are portrayed as being a nescience to society. The scene ends with us witnessing the three mothers on the floor crying and the grandmother in exceptional distress hitting herself over the head with a stone. Noyce reinforces this distress with a heightened volume of the sound of rock hitting skull.
At Moore River the girls are traumatized even further when they are stripped of their identity and culture. They are forced to forget their parents. Nina who had been in Moore River for long time has even accepted that “we got no mother.” Only Molly who has “to much of her own mind” believes “I got mother.” Their language is banned, because it is regarded as “jabba...you speak English” and they are forced to accept Christianity or “they’ll whip you and put you in the boob.” When Mr Neville fist visits the settlement and “he’s checkin’ for the fairer ones” we see just how scared the children are. When Molly is called to be checked Noyce lengthens the time she takes to walk up the hill and heightens the sound of her labored breathing intensifying her fright. We see part of this scene through the frightened eyes of Molly. Noyce uses a zoom of Neville to show the power and superiority. He is on top of the hill just in front of the Church, a symbol of white power further compounding his hegemony. Noyce again points out the ignorance of the whites when Molly finally reaches Neville. She even tries to turn around, but is told “I’m not going to hurt you.” This is quite ironic, as that’s exactly what Neville is doing. He may not be physically harming them , but psychologically he’s doing a great deal of damage and as we all know in today’s society sometime psychological damage can far outweigh any physical damage that can be done.
The settlement itself shows black disempowerment and contradictions in the stolen generation policy. Noyce questions that if the half-castes are being “advanced to white status” why they are then taught only to be “domestic servants and farm laborers” and not “go to proper school” at Sister Kate’s.
Noyce is also highly critical of the treatment of the half-caste children as servants. Mavis for example is a young woman that is raped by the land owner, but she is not powerful enough to do anything about it. When we see the land owner Noyce uses a upward camera angle to make him appear larger than life and thus more powerful. Mavis is so traumatized and weak that she is forced to plead to the young children to protect her, “Please don’t go, if you go he’ll come back.” Noyce uses silence here to enhance Mavis’s call for help. Mavis is used by Noyce to criticize a policy that takes children from a loving and caring household and then putting them in a situation where they are treated as poorly. The hegemonic white population is so ignorant that they do not properly find suitable places for the children. They merely believe that if they are part of the white society they are better off.
Noyce shows that Mr Neville and white society merely assumed that because the natives used “neolithic tools” they would want to be “advanced to white status not matter the cost. Molly on the other hand says “this place make me sick” and will do anything to “go home.” When the girls set off even the experienced tracker isn’t able to catch them, because he is merely doing his job while the girls are going home out of love Noyce shows us that love is stronger than all else. He shows the audience that the narrow minded whites broke up love and he is highly critical of it. This is shown in the final scenes when the Aboriginal women finally stand up to Riggs. Even though he has a gun the love of the Aborigines makes them strong and Riggs is forced to retreat. The loss is power is shown to us by the lowering of the camera shot. Throughout the film the camera is angled up to show the hegemonic power of the whites, but the love now makes the Aborigines stronger and it is now they who are shown as being powerful. Even the all powerful “Mr Devil” is powerless against love.
For the children the love is for their mothers and it consequently forces the three to separate and leads to the “re-capture” of Gracie. Noyce shows us that home is a place of belonging and not just the place the children live. So be referring to the fact that they want to “go home” Noyce shows us that they do not belong away from their mothers and they certainly don’t belong at Moore River.
Noyce is adamant that the stolen generation policy caused major distress to all those involved. Both the parents and the children faced sever physiological scarring that affects them to this day. Noyce does not fully blame the hegemonic whites nor Mr Neville for this, as they were merely victims of their time, but he does show that they were narrow minded and ignorant for enforcing such a traumatizing policy.