Sometimes a play on words can be all that is needed to effect a change. For example, last Thursday May the 4th was Star Wars Day. This is because “May the 4^th” sounds like the beginning of the phrase “may the Force be with you…”, first uttered by Obi-Wan Kenobi in “A New Hope” (1977). Star Wars Day started out as a joke on social media, but in only a few years has grown into a day on which fans celebrate George Lucas’ much-loved space saga. This year I went to a Star Wars trivia night with fellow nerds and enjoyed some “Wookie Cookies” and blue-milk with Kahlua.

Recently there has been a push on social media to change Australia’s national day to May 8th, a similar play on words to May the 4th as it sounds like “MAAATE”.  An amusing video titled Change Australia Day to May 8, Maaaaate went viral on social media and put forward a very compelling case for changing the date. While this video itself is light-hearted, it comes from an increasing movement in Australian society that is uncomfortable with our current national day. Many see January the 26th as problematic as it coincides with the date that the traditional owners of Australia were effectively robbed of their land – not really something worth celebrating. Whether we see a change of our national day any time soon remains to be seen, but the May 8th play on words will no doubt provide a rallying cry and provoke some very interesting conversations around our barbecues, cantinas and the Galaxy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tV57_pRGToU