Cathy Freeman is a sporting icon and an influential Indigenous Australian in our society. Cathy has influenced many throughout her sporting career and continues to inspire today. She has changed many lives and has been recognised for her contribution. My presentation will discuss what the contribution of Cathy Freeman to influence Australian popular culture in the post war era.
Popular culture according to the dictionary, defines it “as cultural activities or commercial products reflecting, suited to or aimed at the tastes of the general masses of people.” (Dictionary.com, 2015) Although this is true, I believe the meaning of popular culture is far deeper. Popular culture or ‘culture of people’ is determined by the interactions between people…show more content… She first became aware that her race was an issue during primary school. Cathy was winning all the races but only white Australian girls received trophies. This didn’t diminish Cathy’s drive as she came back and said “all that mattered was that I crossed the line first.” This was the start of a strong young woman who can overcome the challenges of racism. Her 1994 gesture brought not only negativity but it also was supported by the public. She received over 5000 faxes in support for her victory lap, one of which was from the Australian Prime Minister of the time, Paul Keating. After she was criticised after her first victory lap, she used the publicity to publicly explain to people what the Aboriginal flag meant to them. This being, symbolism, red for earth, yellow for sun and black for skin. Defying orders and threats to be stripped of her medals, she ran with it again after winning the 200 metres. She was an object of prejudice despite her glory of winning and her talent. Both press criticism and public disapproval was always present even until the Sydney games. When she was appointed flag bearer at the Sydney Olympics, many appealed for someone else to do it and other wrote in to express it shouldn’t be Cathy. They felt the cultural pride for indigenous Australians should be kept undercover. With all of the controversies at hand, she lit the Olympic flame most people had come to…show more content… Before the Sydney Olympics, there was a worry about the reaction of the Aboriginal community as certain groups had protests organised and threatened violence during the games. Although these didn’t happen, some called the Olympics a lie, which promotes the unity of white people while the Aboriginals are excluded. The doubts in both Indigenous people and the Olympic organisers disappeared after seeing the appearance of Cathy Freeman at the Opening ceremony. Cathy never let her Indigenous culture leave her and always took every opportunity to make an impact. 2003 saw her retirement, where she pursued interests related to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island people. She is always involved in a number of charities and community activities. Her very own foundation, The Cathy Freeman Foundation was created in 2007 and was founded to give Australian Indigenous children a brighter future through their education. She believes all children deserve the opportunity to learn, experience life, explore their talents and live their dreams just like she has been given many opportunities throughout her life. Fuelled on the desire to bridge the education gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous children, her foundation supports more than 1600 children across four remote Indigenous communities. 5 programs, targeting different aspects of
