Educational Media Reviews Online

Robert Hixon Hanson’s documentary, Kingdom of Archers, focuses on the evolution of archery in Bhutan. Archery has been widely practiced in Bhutan from cultural tradition to modernization. The film explores the complexities of archers preserving culture while striving to perform better in international archery tournaments.

The documentary captures beautiful archery cinematography, with natural scenery of Bhutan, from five different locations to interview various communities. The five Bhutan locations are Punakha, Paro, Thimphu, Kanglung, and Radi. The archery enthusiasts who were interviewed ranged from the country’s leaders, members from professional archery organizations, school coaches, students and their parents, and crafters who make bamboo bows and arrows. This gives a wide range of perspectives about the history of archery and how it provides community while continuing to adapt to modern arrows and bows.

Furthermore, the film goes into detail about gender in sports. Traditionally in Bhutan, archery has been mainly for men and not women. But women are starting to pick up the sport even if they are better than the men and conflicted with their traditional familial duties. This is similar to how children taking up archery in schools as an extracurricular activity can feel. With how intense international competitions can be and how the government is involved, this gives the children added pressure in their studies and focus on doing well in archery to represent Bhutan. Nevertheless, archers in Bhutan find the value and enjoyment of archery within their communities despite the challenging factors that come their way. The ending was promising with discussion about attending the Olympics and remembering one’s roots while embracing Westernized traditions to continue the cultural legacy.

Overall, this is recommended for an academic library collection in support of those who are learning about sports history in a cultural perspective and describing Bhutan’s valuable and intimate archery communities.

Awards:
Exceptional Merit, Summer 2020 Docs without Border Film Festival

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