Summary
- Katniss' archery skills in The Hunger Games were inspired by Olympic form and coached by Khatuna Lorig, an American Olympic Archer.
- While her form is impressive for target archery, it may not be suitable for hunting scenarios like those in the film.
- The expert explains that shooting a moving target with the Olympic style of shooting would not be effective.
The Hunger Games' Katniss Everdeen's archery skills are assessed by an expert, revealing that her weapon of choice may have been used in the wrong way. The victor-turned-revolutionary icon of Suzanne Collin's young adult dystopia novel series was portrayed by Jennifer Lawrence across four movies from 2012 to 2015, which adapted the author's original trilogy of novels. Volunteering in the place of her sister during the 74th Hunger Games, District 12 resident Katniss' defiance in the games would spark a rebellion that would lead to the downfall of the corrupt, fascistic Capitol's rule.
While Katniss will not return for the upcoming Hunger Games prequel, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Insider's latest video has invited traditional archer Jim Kent to offer his insight on how Katniss' bow skills shape up to real-world archery. While Kent praised Lawrence's Olympic-inspired bow work highly, the expert was quick to point out that the style of archery would be inappropriate for Katniss' archery skills that she learned to originally hunt prey in the woods surrounding District 12. Check out Kent's full critique below:
She actually has beautiful form in this film, and she was coached by an Olympic archer called Khatuna Lorig, an American Olympic Archer. Again, a fantastic Archer, so her form is an Olympic form, which is fantastic for target archery. Now, she's in a hunting scenario, that type of archery isn't necessarily going to work fantastically well in this sort of scenario.
There's so many variables, you're uphill, you're downhill, and you're waiting at full draw for something to come into shot. She's doing a bit of wing shooting there, she's shooting a bird, shooting a moving target is also difficult, and you wouldn't be able to use an Olympic style of shooting to shoot a moving target.
Katniss' Archery Skills Saved Her Life Before She Ever Stepped Into The Games
Long before the events of The Hunger Games, Katniss was taught by her father in the forests how to survive and thrive outside of the districts, learning about plants found in the wilderness, how to swim, and what can be eaten out in the wilderness. It was during this time that he taught her how to use a bow, and how to hunt prey with it, giving her a skill that would prove life-saving after he tragically perishes in a mining accident and her mother falls into a deep depression.
With Katniss' skills with a bow being vital to the survival of her family, Katniss stands out as one of the most skilled warriors throughout The Hunger Games series. Even when compared to the prowess of the Career tributes from the first few Districts, Katniss' archery talents are quickly acknowledged as an asset that can give her an edge over her foes by Haymitch (Woody Harrelson), leading to him ordering her to keep them under wraps during training. Despite this, her trick shot at the Gamemaker assessors took them by surprise, impressing them and giving her the points needed to attract support from the Capitol's citizens.
While Katniss' skills with a bow saved her life long before the 74th games, Kent's critiques are understandable. Though Lawrence's skills learned through The Hunger Games' production are impressive, the expert's explanation offer insight into how the character would actually act in reality. Regardless of whether Katniss' archery matches how hunters would act in real life, many fans of the franchise are sure to welcome the expert's praise of Lawrence's dedication to learning how to wield a bow.
Source: Insider
