The Guardian says archery is cool again, and it's thanks to a heroine of Young Adult fiction, Katniss Everdeen.
And I believe it. I've experienced this type of popularity piggy-backing when I was young and impressionable, whether it was a Super Nintendo game piquing my interest in the World Cup, or the adventures of Emilio Estevez and his Mighty Ducks causing my friends and I to get rollerblades and commit faux-hockey stops in the library parking lot. Shoot, I knew archery was a great sport ever since Disney's Robin Hood outfoxed Prince John in a competition for maid Marian's kiss.
Should I say, just because it's literature, that Katniss' grip is more genuine, effective or lasting? The influence of Katniss is more important than Emelio's, but the difference is circumstantial. Whereas hockey is a high-profile sport, I don't think many people are familiar with archery. Katniss, like Legolas, helped bring a long-lasting tradition to the fore of our awarenesses. The Mighty Ducks instead helped a sport with a large following reach out to the casual fan.
It's also significant that Katniss is a young women. According to The Guardian, in 2011 teenage girls were polled concerning the sport they most wanted to try, and archery came out on top. If it were this year, you might say the Olympics had something to do with the spike in popularity, but since it was last year the link to The Hunger Games is obvious.
Literature's roll is to teach, entertain and inspire. Katniss made once again relatable an ancient form of recreation and survival. Films, and even video games, have the ability to do all these things, but the leaning is always toward entertainment. With a book we're able to take teaching, be entertained and become inspired for hours--and not even feel guilty about it.
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