1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:01,920 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of I 2 00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:10,280 Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Hello and Welcome to This Day in History Class, 3 00:00:10,680 --> 00:00:13,320 Speaker 1: a show that gives a quick look that's something that 4 00:00:13,400 --> 00:00:18,239 Speaker 1: happened a long time ago. Today I'm Gay Bluesier, and 5 00:00:18,320 --> 00:00:23,079 Speaker 1: today we're exploring the surprising political origins of May the 6 00:00:23,239 --> 00:00:26,560 Speaker 1: Fourth Be with You, a nerdy play on words that 7 00:00:26,760 --> 00:00:29,560 Speaker 1: took on a life of its own and eventually became 8 00:00:29,600 --> 00:00:43,720 Speaker 1: a worldwide holiday, both online and on the day was 9 00:00:43,880 --> 00:00:49,800 Speaker 1: May four, nineteen seventy nine. In celebration of Margaret Thatcher's 10 00:00:49,800 --> 00:00:53,640 Speaker 1: election victory, members of the Conservative Party took out a 11 00:00:53,680 --> 00:00:59,320 Speaker 1: newspaper ad proclaiming, May the Fourth be with you, Maggie, congratulations. 12 00:01:00,320 --> 00:01:03,840 Speaker 1: The half page ad ran in the London Evening Times 13 00:01:04,080 --> 00:01:07,280 Speaker 1: and marked the first recorded use of the phrase May 14 00:01:07,319 --> 00:01:11,400 Speaker 1: the Fourth be with you. Thatcher had just become Britain's 15 00:01:11,480 --> 00:01:15,680 Speaker 1: first female prime minister, and for whatever reason, her fellow 16 00:01:15,720 --> 00:01:19,080 Speaker 1: Tories thought a Star Wars pun was the best way 17 00:01:19,120 --> 00:01:23,200 Speaker 1: to mark the historic occasion for anyone who's never heard 18 00:01:23,240 --> 00:01:26,600 Speaker 1: of Star Wars, if there are such people. There's a 19 00:01:26,640 --> 00:01:30,800 Speaker 1: concept in the series called the Force, an intangible field 20 00:01:30,840 --> 00:01:34,039 Speaker 1: of energy that connects every living thing in the universe. 21 00:01:34,640 --> 00:01:37,920 Speaker 1: Characters who are conscious of this energy often use the 22 00:01:37,959 --> 00:01:40,880 Speaker 1: phrase may the Force be with you as a way 23 00:01:40,920 --> 00:01:45,480 Speaker 1: to wish others good fortune. As you're probably aware, fourth 24 00:01:45,680 --> 00:01:49,560 Speaker 1: sounds an awful lot like force, and for geeks, Dad's 25 00:01:49,640 --> 00:01:54,240 Speaker 1: and apparently British politicians, that similarity was just too good 26 00:01:54,280 --> 00:01:58,600 Speaker 1: to ignore. A silly pun on a movie catchphrase was 27 00:01:58,640 --> 00:02:02,800 Speaker 1: an odd way to congradulate Prime Minister Thatcher, especially when 28 00:02:02,800 --> 00:02:05,960 Speaker 1: you consider that it wasn't all that topical a reference. 29 00:02:06,480 --> 00:02:10,280 Speaker 1: The first Star Wars film had been released two years earlier, 30 00:02:10,520 --> 00:02:14,520 Speaker 1: and the second wouldn't hit theaters until nineteen eighty. The 31 00:02:14,639 --> 00:02:18,200 Speaker 1: pun's appearance in the London Evening Times is a testament 32 00:02:18,240 --> 00:02:21,760 Speaker 1: to the movie's cultural impact even in those very early 33 00:02:21,880 --> 00:02:25,760 Speaker 1: days of the franchise. The pun on may the Force 34 00:02:25,880 --> 00:02:29,480 Speaker 1: Be with You gain traction with fans in the following years, 35 00:02:29,800 --> 00:02:34,080 Speaker 1: but it wouldn't return to national prominence until fifteen years later. 36 00:02:34,400 --> 00:02:40,280 Speaker 1: On May fourth, nine four, once again British politicians were 37 00:02:40,320 --> 00:02:43,440 Speaker 1: responsible for the usage, though this time it was a 38 00:02:43,440 --> 00:02:46,840 Speaker 1: member of the opposition, the Labor Party, who trotted out 39 00:02:46,880 --> 00:02:51,600 Speaker 1: the phrase during a parliamentary debate that afternoon, while discussing 40 00:02:51,639 --> 00:02:56,280 Speaker 1: the defense budget Harry M. Cohen noted that quote May 41 00:02:56,320 --> 00:02:59,680 Speaker 1: the fourth is an appropriate date for a defense debate. 42 00:03:00,160 --> 00:03:02,880 Speaker 1: My researcher, who is a bit of a wit, said 43 00:03:02,919 --> 00:03:06,359 Speaker 1: that it should be called National Star Wars Day. He 44 00:03:06,440 --> 00:03:09,560 Speaker 1: was talking about the film Star Wars rather than President 45 00:03:09,600 --> 00:03:13,080 Speaker 1: Reagan's defense fantasy, and he added, May the fourth be 46 00:03:13,160 --> 00:03:16,720 Speaker 1: with you. That is a very bad joke. He deserves 47 00:03:16,880 --> 00:03:20,000 Speaker 1: the sack for making it, but he is a good researcher. 48 00:03:21,120 --> 00:03:25,080 Speaker 1: In case you're wondering, Cohen's jab at President Reagan was 49 00:03:25,120 --> 00:03:29,519 Speaker 1: in reference to his Strategic Defense Initiative, a Soviet missile 50 00:03:29,560 --> 00:03:33,720 Speaker 1: defense plan that critics had called a reckless Star Wars scheme. 51 00:03:34,800 --> 00:03:37,960 Speaker 1: The May the fourth pun finally escaped the realm of 52 00:03:37,960 --> 00:03:41,839 Speaker 1: British politics in the mid two thousands when online fan 53 00:03:41,920 --> 00:03:45,200 Speaker 1: groups adopted it as the slogan of an unofficial Star 54 00:03:45,240 --> 00:03:50,040 Speaker 1: Wars holiday. In eleven, the May fourth celebration made the 55 00:03:50,120 --> 00:03:53,880 Speaker 1: jump to the real world when Toronto Underground Cinema in 56 00:03:54,000 --> 00:03:58,360 Speaker 1: Canada held a costume contest and film festival in honor 57 00:03:58,400 --> 00:04:02,480 Speaker 1: of all things Star Wars. Other fan groups and venues 58 00:04:02,560 --> 00:04:06,520 Speaker 1: quickly copied the idea, transforming a corny turn of phrase 59 00:04:06,800 --> 00:04:12,120 Speaker 1: into an annual event recognized around the globe. Lucasfilm, the 60 00:04:12,160 --> 00:04:16,680 Speaker 1: production company behind Star Wars, never formally recognized the May 61 00:04:16,720 --> 00:04:19,920 Speaker 1: the fourth holiday, but that changed in a big way 62 00:04:19,960 --> 00:04:24,200 Speaker 1: after Disney bought the rights to Star Wars In the 63 00:04:24,240 --> 00:04:28,520 Speaker 1: following year. The Disney marketing machine kicked into hyper drive, 64 00:04:28,839 --> 00:04:32,839 Speaker 1: launching a series of movie screenings, theme park firework shows, 65 00:04:33,160 --> 00:04:38,880 Speaker 1: and of course, merchandizing deals, my chendizing, my chendizing where 66 00:04:38,880 --> 00:04:41,760 Speaker 1: the real money from the movie is may. From that 67 00:04:41,839 --> 00:04:46,080 Speaker 1: point on, May the fourth has steadily grown in popularity, 68 00:04:46,160 --> 00:04:50,320 Speaker 1: with more and more fans, politicians, and companies joining in 69 00:04:50,360 --> 00:04:55,080 Speaker 1: the festivities each year. Even with Disney's backing, May the 70 00:04:55,160 --> 00:04:59,480 Speaker 1: Fourth Be with You still wasn't an official holiday, that is, 71 00:04:59,720 --> 00:05:03,840 Speaker 1: unti ill twenty nineteen, when the California legislature voted to 72 00:05:03,920 --> 00:05:09,360 Speaker 1: officially declare May fourth as Star Wars Day. The resolution 73 00:05:09,560 --> 00:05:13,479 Speaker 1: was put forward by Democratic Assemblyman Tom Daily as a 74 00:05:13,520 --> 00:05:16,359 Speaker 1: way to recognize the opening of a new Star Wars 75 00:05:16,400 --> 00:05:21,279 Speaker 1: themed land at Disneyland and Anaheim. The expansion was expected 76 00:05:21,320 --> 00:05:25,160 Speaker 1: to bring in about fourteen million dollars in tax revenue 77 00:05:25,240 --> 00:05:29,080 Speaker 1: to the city every year, something that the state legislature 78 00:05:29,200 --> 00:05:33,719 Speaker 1: agreed was caused for celebration. May the Fourth Be with 79 00:05:33,800 --> 00:05:37,799 Speaker 1: You has gone on a strange journey from being politicized 80 00:05:38,040 --> 00:05:41,520 Speaker 1: to corporatized, but at its heart the pun and the 81 00:05:41,560 --> 00:05:45,320 Speaker 1: holiday it gave rise to our expressions of love For 82 00:05:45,360 --> 00:05:49,480 Speaker 1: a series that's captured the public's imagination for four decades 83 00:05:49,560 --> 00:05:53,159 Speaker 1: in County, it's also one of the most warmly received 84 00:05:53,320 --> 00:05:57,200 Speaker 1: puns in recent memory. That rare kind of dad joke 85 00:05:57,360 --> 00:06:03,159 Speaker 1: that isn't met exclusively with grown. Thankfully, Star Wars continues 86 00:06:03,240 --> 00:06:06,400 Speaker 1: to have as little to do with Margaret Thatcher today 87 00:06:06,520 --> 00:06:10,200 Speaker 1: as it did in nineteen seventy nine. It's worth noting, though, 88 00:06:10,279 --> 00:06:13,839 Speaker 1: that for better or worse, the force was indeed with 89 00:06:13,920 --> 00:06:18,560 Speaker 1: Britain's Iron Lady. May fourth, nineteen seventy nine was the 90 00:06:18,640 --> 00:06:22,040 Speaker 1: first day of what proved to be the longest continuous 91 00:06:22,120 --> 00:06:26,600 Speaker 1: tenure of a British Prime minister since the early eighteen hundreds. 92 00:06:27,279 --> 00:06:31,839 Speaker 1: All told, Thatcher served three back to back terms spanning 93 00:06:31,920 --> 00:06:36,359 Speaker 1: nineteen seventy nine to nineteen ninety. Whether you agree with 94 00:06:36,400 --> 00:06:40,320 Speaker 1: our politics or not, you have to admit that's impressive, 95 00:06:41,200 --> 00:06:48,320 Speaker 1: most impressive. I'm gay, bluesier and hopefully you now know 96 00:06:48,400 --> 00:06:52,480 Speaker 1: a little more about history today than you did yesterday. 97 00:06:52,760 --> 00:06:55,440 Speaker 1: You can learn even more about history by following us 98 00:06:55,480 --> 00:07:00,359 Speaker 1: on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at t d i HC Show, 99 00:07:00,960 --> 00:07:03,480 Speaker 1: and if you have any comments or suggestions, you can 100 00:07:03,520 --> 00:07:06,479 Speaker 1: always send them my way at this Day at I 101 00:07:06,640 --> 00:07:10,560 Speaker 1: heart media dot com. Thanks to Chandler Mays for producing 102 00:07:10,600 --> 00:07:13,520 Speaker 1: the show, and thank you for listening. I'll see you 103 00:07:13,560 --> 00:07:17,560 Speaker 1: back here again tomorrow for another day in History class.