Perhaps my favorite magazine time of the year, this month is when Time Magazine comes out with its “100 Most Influential People in the World” edition.
This is when the people at Time Magazine attempt to whittle down the influence of the world into 100 people. This year, the people were separated into four categories: leaders, artists, thinkers and heroes. The list, as you would expect, has its recurring characters. Of course Barack Obama is going to be on the list, as he was last year and as I’m sure he will be for the next few years at the least.
Each person has a short column written about them by some sort of celebrity contributor. And that person doesn’t necessarily have to be a expert on the person their writing on either. This is the biggest problem I have with the list. First, it is not a requirement that the writer actually tell the readers why the person is on the list. Second, as I said before, the writer doesn’t have to be an expert. It is normally written by someone that has some sort of intimate relationship with the influential person but that doesn’t mean they are going to give you any real information or give you a non-biased opinion on that person.
So I figure the best thing to do would be to go through each of these categories and highlight a few of the more interesting people (for better or for worse), and, if it wasn’t properly conveyed within the magazine, try to explain why they might be considered influential.
Here we go…
Leaders
Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva:
Silva was elected president of Brazil in 2002. His column is written by Michael Moore, which should be a dead giveaway as to why Silva has been included on this year’s list. Moore revisited the day in which Silva watched his pregnant wife and unborn child die because they could not afford decent health insurance. Moore also made sure he sneaked in a jab directed at the imbalance of wealth in the United States today.
Sarah Palin/Glenn Beck:
These were two different entries but I figure they fit together pretty well considering that Palin wrote Beck’s column in the magazine. Rock Star Ted Nugent wrote Palin’s. Both columns use vague language such as “love for country” and “love of the founding fathers” but the real reason these two are included is because they are spearheading the new “tea-party” movement in America. Seeing as this movement seems like it won’t be going away anytime soon, the massive amount of influence exerted by Palin and Beck solidifies their spots on this list.
Scott Brown:
Brown is a republican who was elected to the Senate in the seat of Ted Kennedy. Column author Mitt Romney took the opportunity to rub this victory in the face of the Obama administration but Brown makes this list in my mind because of his views. Brown is republican, yes, but he is a Massachusetts republican, which means he has to be much more center than most republicans have been in the Senate. This makes which way he votes a little more unpredictable and, in turn, makes him much more significant.
Artists
Lady Gaga:
OK…there is no denying that Gaga has become one of the largest, if not the largest, pop sensations in the world this year. However that doesn’t necessarily make you one of the most influential people in the world. Column author Cyndi Lauper argues that what Gaga does is art. I argue that what Gaga does is entertainment, and this does not qualify her to be on this list.
Conan O’Brien:
Once again, why? Yes, his highly publicized divorce from NBC has made him the talk of TV town, but I fail to see how this makes him any more influential than he was last year…when he didn’t make the list. Are we supposed to feel bad for him?
Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof:
These guys are definitely on my top 100 list. Cuse and Lindelof took over the ABC drama LOST when JJ Abrams couldn’t find time for it, and they haven’t failed in keeping millions of people (myself hopelessly included) psychologically addicted for seasons now. They undoubtedly were included on this year’s list because we are now just two episodes away from the series wrapping up for good. Although I can vouch for the impact this show can have on one’s life, alas, it remains just entertainment that reaches about 25 million people. Not nearly enough in my mind to be truly worthy of being on this list.
