Oh for fuck's sake.

[Racket_Man]

I'm not sure if it includes her dress or not. But the mockingjay getup doesn't happen until Catching Fire.

the Mockingjay battle armor that Cinna designed does not appear until the last book -- Mockingjay

The Mockingjay costume/ flaming wedding dress is in Catching Fire.

[fireheart17]

the Mockingjay battle armor that Cinna designed does not appear until the last book -- Mockingjay

The Mockingjay costume/ flaming wedding dress is in Catching Fire.

I think she was referring to the dress from the film.

[Jester]

From the linked article:

Mattel said it was unable to comment on the dolls.

That is just factually incorrect. They may have been UNWILLING to comment on the dolls, but they were certainly ABLE.

Allow me to upstage.

BRILLIANT upstaging! Laughed my ass off. Literally...I no longer have an ass. (Makes sitting rather an awkward proposition, I must admit....)

Well if they get the Katniss barbie, they may read the books and see how one woman brought down an entire system of government, while suffering personal loss, and sacrificing herself, and her well-being for someone she loved.

And what kind of message is that to send to OUR CHILDREN?!?!?!?!!

[siead_lietrathua]

i agree with it being a collector's doll. i've seen collectors top shelf, bottom shelf, or spanning a section. they're often blended with the normal figures.
frankly, i'm tempted to file people raging over it into the "if that's the biggest concern in your life..." pile. in the end, it's a damn doll. buy it for your kids. odds are it'll get treated just like any other barbie. headless in a week. :P

[Panacea]

Amanita, there's a whole bow and arrow set for girls. :P

I wasn't aware that a bow was a gender specific weapon.

Actually I did archery as a kid. Loads of fun.

If they actually knew anything about the woman beyond the sanitised version most people get fed, they'd kick up a real stink over that too. Especially if the manufacturer included the syphilis...

Florence didn't have syphilis. She may have had brucellosis, which is not sexually transmitted.

I'm a dude and I would TOTALLY buy this doll. Especially if it includes her Girl-on-Fire dress and her Mockingjay getup.

Girl dolls of well known female action figures are usually bought by guys. They tend to be more collectible because they are usually made in small numbers compared to the male figures.

And I would absolutely buy Katniss if I could find her. I will have to start looking.

I'm not sure if it includes her dress or not. But the mockingjay getup doesn't happen until Catching Fire.

She's get the Mockingjay armor in Mockingjay.

frankly, i'm tempted to file people raging over it into the "if that's the biggest concern in your life..." pile. in the end, it's a damn doll. buy it for your kids. odds are it'll get treated just like any other barbie. headless in a week. :P

There are always those so called psychologists who claim that violence in mass media leads to desensitization and increased violence in children, even though those studies have been completely debunked. This is just more of the same.

The only girl who will buy a Katniss Barbie will be one who has read the books or seen the movie. While marketed for teens, younger kids could easily read it (they're easy reads and the story is compelling). And what they'll see is a capable teenaged girl who can survive on her own, leads her family after her father's death and provides for them, sacrifices herself for her sister, sacrifices her personal feelings to save not one but two lives, mourns a brave young girl who risked everything to help her (Rue), and ultimately makes her own choices about how she is going to live and going to die.

Katniss is a complicated character who doesn't always make the right choices, but strives to make HER choices, to do her part to help those she cares for, and ultimately takes a great personal risk to stop the tragedy of her times from becoming perpetual.

She's a great character. I can't wait to see the next two movies. The so called psychologists who "worry" need to get a grip and get a life.

[Andara Bledin]

I wasn't aware that a bow was a gender specific weapon.

It's a weapon at all. The "boys toys vs girls toys" crowd think that girls nead tea sets, dolls, and pretend-to-be-mommy play sets while boys need construction sets, action figures (dolls for boys ), and video games. The stuff in the middle is usually the stuff that can't be pigeon-holed as "training" for traditional roles of "homemaker" and "bread winner and protector," like bikes and most things aimed at the really young kids.

^-.-^

[AdminAssistant]

It's possible, if not probable, that the "girls" bow/arrow set would be lighter and smaller, as girls tend to be slighter in stature than boys (there are, of course, exceptions). It's not inherently sexist that there are girl's basketballs, or that women play softball instead of baseball.

[Panacea]

It's possible, if not probable, that the "girls" bow/arrow set would be lighter and smaller, as girls tend to be slighter in stature than boys (there are, of course, exceptions). It's not inherently sexist that there are girl's basketballs, or that women play softball instead of baseball.

Not really. Bows are made with specific pull weights. An average bow usable by kids around 10-12 years old requires about 30lbs of pull to draw fully. Not very much. The average hunting bow requires about 90lbs.

You can get a bow to match what you can draw. Gender doesn't matter, though generally men are able to pull more than women because they have the upper body strength and women tend not to.

[AccountingDrone]

Weird; when I was a kid, I had a veritable collection of toy guns and no-one batted an eyelid. O_o

Eh, when I was 8 in 1969 my dad took me out to a range and taught me to shoot, then turned around and gave me his WW2 issue M1 for my 12th birthday ... and started taking me hunting with he and my brother.

When you can use a couple sandbags prone, an M1 works wonderfully for ambushing deer headed to the pond for water

And I had the cute little fibreglass 20 pound pull bow and target arrows, and a wrist rocket with a bag of ball bearings, and he and one of his army buddies taught me how to make several different man-traps as practiced in Vietnam ... ho-yah!

[Mr Hero]

This Not Always Right link seems appropriate for the thread.

http://notalwaysright.com/may-the-cu...ur-favor/24276

[Amanita]

I got my Katniss doll, ordered from Sears. She's sitting on the table next to me at the moment. All those worry-warts complaining about her can suck it!

[KitterCat]

Not really. Bows are made with specific pull weights. An average bow usable by kids around 10-12 years old requires about 30lbs of pull to draw fully. Not very much. The average hunting bow requires about 90lbs.

You can get a bow to match what you can draw. Gender doesn't matter, though generally men are able to pull more than women because they have the upper body strength and women tend not to.

Your going to love this. Having worked now 5 seasons at VA Renaissance festival as the Range Safety Officer at the archery range I have seen more girls that can pull back a 30lb long bow then boys. The younger girls, between 8-16, are more capable of pulling back the weight then the boys. The girls are still dealing with the social issue of this being a weapon and thus a boys/mans tool as they do with a lot of sports. They have to have the muscle and ease of ability in order to show off they can do it.

The boys are ridding on the fact that their boys. Its automatically assumed by their parents that they can pull that weight and perform accurately to aim. To put it simply - they cant. I can almost tell by looking if a boy is going to be able to pull it. Far to many of them are turning to fat.

A few points to let you know. Hunting weight is defined by state. It does not require 90lbs in most states for you to go hunting, it’s a lot lower than you think. If I’m remembering the highest state required is 40lbs. MD requires a minimum of 30lbs - so yes the bows I’m teaching kids and adults are hunting acceptable for deer.

The whole higher poundage is due to the mechanical advantage that a compound bow gives you along with the acceleration and making it easier for the arrow to penetrate due to less drag. An English longbow does not give you that mechanical advantage that lessens how much you are pulling back. So for a 90lbs compund you could be pulling 30-45lbs due to the mechanical advantage, but release at 90lbs pull and higher acceleration.


As for the dolls. Heck I want both. The Brave Archery set is laughable though. A kid would have to be really lucky in order to cause any real damage, and I could see the toy breaking in less than a day. Still would be a good tool to teach proper handling technique to a child.

[Panacea]

All this talk about archery makes me want to take it up again.

I was good at it, one of the few things I had some talent for as a kid.

[SongsOfDragons]

All this talk about archery makes me want to take it up again.

I was good at it, one of the few things I had some talent for as a kid.

Me too. I love archery. We used to have a weekly club for it at uni.

[KitterCat]

If your ever at VARF or PARF come by the archery booth. At VA we’ve got a pay to shoot and at both we sell English longbows. Prices are around $180. Statically speaking us girls shoot better then the guys, if we’re given the same practice time. If you have a Gander Mountain around you in the states some of them have a pay to shoot indoor range. They don’t let you shoot crossbows though.

Sorry SongsOfDragons, I don’t know the laws off handed for England. Given that your country has pretty much suppressed any type of major weapon for its civilians, I wouldn’t be surprised if bows aren’t allowed any more. Which would be a shame considering how much they played a part in your country’s defenses.