Francis Jupurrula Makes TV at Yuendumu

Francis Jupurrula Makes TV at Yuendumu is a very interesting piece about the Walpiri people and how they conduct themselves through film with the restrictions their culture has. The Walpiri people follow a certain law that is that of a knowledge-based class system. Based on age, gender, kinship and “country” (country being a place of conception, birth, death or residence), they classify individuals into one of several categories. This restricted-access knowledge classification system differs vastly from our western system of classification; income. If an unauthorized individual shows knowledge they should not be privy to, that person can be severely punished or even killed.
In the Walpiri culture, when a person dies, all material positions and property of that individual must be destroyed. People must not speak of that person, and even words that sound like that persons name must be changed. This is an interesting restriction that the Walpiri people have on their film. If the deceased is captured on film or in a photograph, two mediums that have longevity and may include people that are still living, the Walpiri people simply white out, or ink over the faces of those deceased.