May the 4th Be With You

About this episode

The episode explores the cultural impact of Star Wars: A New Hope and its journey to the Smithsonian.

A long time ago, in movie theaters not far away, Star Wars: A New Hope revolutionized American entertainment. In honor of May the 4th, we explore how a scrappy space fantasy reinvented a tale as old as time — and gave Americans hope in a time of difficulty. We'll also trace the journey of two bickering droids from a galaxy far, far away to the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History. Guests: Ryan Lintelman, curator of entertainment at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History Eric Jentsch, curator at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History Dawn Wallace, objects conservator at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History

People in this episode

Guests: Ryan Lintelman, Eric Jentsch, Dawn Wallace

Topics covered

• Star Wars
• American entertainment
• cultural impact
• history of film
• droids
• Smithsonian

Keywords

• Star Wars
• A New Hope
• Smithsonian
• entertainment history
• droids
• cultural revolution

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Smithsonian National Museum of American History

Books & works: Star Wars: A New Hope

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