Pop C with Sandra Zee Ep. 6 - The Olympics: Post-Show.
Much has been said about Canada's performance at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver controversy over the Own to the Podium emerged. What is this? Why should we care about our performance to the world?
After watching the Olympics, I wonder why the Canadian Olympic Team and others were placing so much emphasis on medal count instead of supporting our athletes in their endeavors? It is an amazing feat and accomplishment to make it to the Olympics and to be an Olympic athlete. I wonder if the Own the Podium campaign intent was to create controversy? Because it did.
The Vancouver 2010 Olympics were a spectacle of Canadian athleticism where we won a record number of gold medals and showed the world that we are Canadian!
The portrayal of natives during the opening ceremonies merely as performers and entertainers diminish our role in the colonization of their land.
Canada was built on native land. It was just recently that the Canadian government apologized for the Native Residential School System that mandated all natives to be taught in a separate space. It was an exclusionary process. The way natives were portrayed in the opening ceremonies shows an utter lack of respect and connection, which is very un-Canadian of us.
The Canadian Olympic team was comprised of very few visible minority athletes. What does this say to the world about Canada?
In the closing ceremonies, John Furlong the head of VANOC stated: Our humble Canadian story no one left out but the lack of diversity among the Canadian athletes over these games is problematic. How can we maintain our vision of being a mosaic of multicultural people when we dont accurately represent that scenario in our own Olympics? Where are all the visible minority athletes in the Winter games? We need to ensure inclusion and that means increased funding and support to all potential athletes.
Join Sandra Zee, Pop Culture Icon and expert for a startlingly frank discussion about the Canadian representation and performance at the Vancouver Winter Olympics and the future of our athletes. If you have ever wondered how we can live in a country so obsessed with hockey, curling and other sports yet our Olympic athletes are not supported the way they should - Sandra Zee has the answers.
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