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The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #34: Archery in the Media

Episode #34: How Archery Gets Portrayed Inaccurately in the Media 

Discussion of how not shoot a bow by modeling Hollwood, book covers, and other art

https://archive.org/download/13thHrEps16On/13th%20hr%2034.mp3

The Hunger Games movies and books have created a resurgence in archery as a sport.  A lot of times, beginners will wrap a finger around the arrow to keep it from falling off.  But it’s best not to ever put your fingers anywhere near the tip of the arrow.

Some different grip styles of drawing a bow.  There isn’t necessarily a right or wrong – just depends on the gear you have.

The famous Diana statue by Augustus Saint-Gaudens.  I originally thought she was using a thumb style draw.  But after looking at the statue more closely, she isn’t; she’s pinching the arrow nock, a common way beginners think bows are drawn (they can be, though it’s hard to manage a stronger pulling bow this way).  Since she’s supposed to be a hunter, probably not a hunting bow.

diana.jpg

 

Not sure what’s going on here – guess it’s some stylized version of the pinch grip.

Image result for archer drawing bow mechanical release

There are some situations where the drawing hand is in this position, but it’s when a mechanical release is used.

Here, Oliver Queen from Arrow shows an anchor point on his chin, important for accuracy, The position of his right hand seems a bit off in this photo, though I can’t imagine they were using real arrows on set.

Lara Croft from Tomb Raider (2013) shows the same.  This game actually portrayed archery pretty well, though there some artistic licenses clearly taken.

A floating anchor point (the drawing hand is not anchored to another part of the body, like the face or chest).   Not great for accuracy …

http://geekdad.com/2014/08/hawkeyes-fault/ – a funny article about the portrayal of Hawkeye in the Avengers movies.  The 2012 version of the comics, though, portrayed archery more realistically.

Needless to say, art is. of course. different from real life and gets a pass on one level for creative license.  But it makes it not the most reliable place from which to learn – at least when it comes to archery.

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As always, thanks for listening!

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