Did you know that tomorrow is International Star Wars Day? To celebrate, find out how you can utilize the depth of HeinOnline to research this popular franchise.
A Look into the Franchise
Since the release of the first Star Wars film in 1977, the epic space-opera franchise has become a timeless worldwide sensation. After the unparalleled success of the eponymous first film and its sequel, The Empire Strikes Back (1980), creator George Lucas began developing Star Wars into a trilogy of trilogies. However, as both Star Wars enthusiasts and critics know, the franchise soon extended beyond film into various other industries, including television, video games, novels, comics, theme parks, and merchandising. With The Walt Disney Company’s purchase of Lucasfilm in October of 2012, the Star Wars universe and its influence on popular culture expanded even further.
Behind the Holiday
The phrase “May the fourth be with you” originated with Margaret Thatcher’s swearing-in as Prime Minister of the UK on May 4, 1979. Playing on the well-known line “May the force be with you,” the pun led to the unofficial designation of May 4 as Star Wars Day in the 2000s. Officially observed by The Walt Disney Company since 2013, Star Wars Day has now become an international phenomenon celebrated by costume contests, tributes, social media campaigns, and other festivities all over the globe. Some die-hard fans even celebrate the following day, May 5, as “Revenge of the Fifth,” referring to Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005).
Discover a New Hope with HeinOnline
Even Star Wars can be researched through HeinOnline! Users interested in the franchise can enter the Law Journal Library and run a basic search for “Star Wars” OR “May the Fourth Be With You,” bringing up more than 3,000 results.
Coincidentally, ScholarCheck’s number-one ranked author is also a Star Wars fan. In his book The World According to Star Wars, Cass R. Sunstein examines what Star Wars has to offer with regard to our understanding of childhood, rebellion, constitutional law, economics, political uprisings, and more.
Reviews of Sunstein’s book can easily be found in HeinOnline. For example, check out this review of The World According to Star Wars by Justice John A. Pearce in the Bar Journals database. Users can find another review entitled “Star Wars, Science Fiction and the Constitution” by Ilya Somin in the Law Journal Library, as well.
To discover articles similar to Somin’s, click the More Like This button found in the upper right-hand side of the review.
Using an algorithm, the More Like This tool pulls out “interesting words” from the article being viewed. Based on these interesting words, users are provided with a list of similar articles to peruse. Users can adjust the boost factors of the interesting words, add a new term, or select a date range to modify the search results.
Interested in learning more about Cass R. Sunstein and his other works? Using the “Full Text” tab on HeinOnline’s welcome page, search for creator: sunstein. Within the results, click on “Sunstein, Cass R.,” hyperlinked in blue, to view his author profile page.
From Sunstein’s author profile page, users can view his ScholarCheck metrics as well as all of the articles he has authored in HeinOnline. Users can also choose to receive different email alerts by clicking the bell icon on the upper right. Email alerts can be set up for the following:
- When new material by Cass R. Sunstein is added to HeinOnline
- When new articles in HeinOnline cite Sunstein’s articles
- When Sunstein’s articles are accessed on HeinOnline each month
- When similar articles are added to Sunstein’s list of works
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