Canada s Presence During The Sochi Olympics - 1127 Words

The media often helps to shape and solidify our national identity, but it also helps to challenge our view. In this paper, I will be summarizing a media narrative on the Canadian national identity and conveying the message received from this article, about Canada as a nation-state, in terms of topics discussed in this course. The article on Canada’s presence during the Sochi Olympics in 2014 shows a changing Canadian national identity. The article highlights a shift towards a more patriotic nation-state, one focused on success and pride. Canada’s success in the Olympics skyrocketed after the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, resulting in a surge of patriotism and confidence in the Canadian people. The Canadian government granted the Own the Podium program more funding, gaining $78.8 million over 8 years (Terlep Bachman 2014). Canada’s increased interest and success in the Olympics has revived Canadian national pride. Canadians have become much more present during the Olympics, over 6000 tickets to the Sochi Games were bought by Canadians (Terlep Bachman 2014). The people have also become more loud in their expressions of national identity, proudly wearing red and white, and maple leafs. The Canadian athletes displayed enthusiasm and vigour, taking selfies with the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, and nicknaming him â€Å"Vlad†, when he visited the Canadian House. Canadian politeness has seemingly been replaced with shameless swagger (Terlep Bachman 2014). This article gives