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One of the Most Influential People in the World is .... ?

By Dustin Rowles | Posted Under Trade News | Comments (44)

lady-gaga-cosmo1.jpg

Time Magazine released its list of the Most Influential People in America, and I guess that the most surprising name on there is not Glen Beck or Sarah Palin — who are unfortunately very influential. It’s not even Ashton Kutcher, whose influence is elusive to me, although not to Sean P.Diddy Combs, who wrote up his profile:

What he and Demi do with Twitter is a good example. Most people use it to promote themselves, but he uses Twitter to connect, to strike up conversations, to send positive messages to the millions of people who read his words. This guy will show us the future. And it’s gonna be a blast.

Lady GaGa and Robert Pattinson: I see their influence, although I wish I didn’t. Taylor Swift likewise. Neil Patrick Harris and Neill Blomkamp are surprising, but in a good way. As are Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof. I have no idea, however, what Prince is doing on the list in 2010.

No. Really, the most surprising person on the list is Lea Michele. You mean: Rachel Berry? What kind of influence does she have? She’s a role player in a Fox show, and probably not even the most popular one. Her inclusion, however, was amusing for one reason: Olivia Newton-John’s self-serving write-up:

It must be so exciting to be Lea. To be in a wonderfully entertaining musical, playing a character whom millions of people around the world adore and whom young girls emulate — tell me about it!

Here is the full list of Time’s Most Influential Entertainers, aka, the people most likely to help sell copies at the news stand:


Lady Gaga
Conan O’Brien
Kathryn Bigelow
Oprah Winfrey
Valery Gergiev
Robert Pattinson
Ashton Kutcher
Suzanne Collins
Taylor Swift
Neil Patrick Harris
Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof
Prince
Lea Michele
Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik
Simon Cowell
Neill Blomkamp
Elton John
Marc Jacobs
David Chang
Banksy
Chetan Bhagat
Sandra Bullock
Ricky Gervais
Han Han
James Cameron









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Comments

Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik

Word up.

Posted by: Forbiddendonut at April 30, 2010 11:34 AM

Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik - hell yeah!

Posted by: TheChief at April 30, 2010 11:42 AM

The creators of the Fruit Fucker finally get their due.

Posted by: J. at April 30, 2010 11:47 AM

Time's Most Influential List Appeals to Its New Junior High Fanbase
---
I guess this explains the 30% of people on the list that I've never fucking heard of.

Posted by: , at April 30, 2010 11:51 AM

How in the world is Prince still one of the top influential people? Are the owners of Time still in love with "Purple Rain"?

Posted by: alphawhiskey at April 30, 2010 11:54 AM

Luce wept

Posted by: Jay at April 30, 2010 11:56 AM

I can never decide if I love Gabe or Tycho more. It's like goldfish crackers and whipped cream, you know?

Posted by: AM at April 30, 2010 12:16 PM

They had this voting system online. You could go choose. It was destined to end up like this all along. Do you think the retirees who read Time are tech-savvy enough to go vote online or that the lawyers who breeze through the important articles have enough free time to do so? The choices were made by the people who only get Time to leave it on their coffee table but still want to feel like a part of things. Them and the people who only know of Time as being an Influential People Counter and therefore voted when they saw it was happening on their Yahoo News Feed and were like "ZOMG RACHEL BERRY!"

To me, the system is clearly broken when Neil Gaiman doesn't win.

Posted by: esme at April 30, 2010 12:22 PM

Yeah, I haven't heard of about 30% of the people on this list and I predict that by next year, most of the people who claim to be "influenced" by them will have forgotten their names. These "most influential/people of the year" lists have always been bullshit. The real most influential people of any year are usually people most of the public couldn't pick out of a lineup (excluding the president). Boring, mostly old people who do unimportant things like making and enforcing laws, and creating new technologies that allow people to do stuff other than inform the world of their every thought and movement. Man, people criticize the Baby Boomers (and often rightly so) for being egotistical and self-absorbed, but the current youthful worship of Twitter is evidence of same.

I know every generation thinks its "culture" is important, when they're 20 years old and dumb. Then you get older and smarter and realize that neither Madonna/Lady Gaga or Prince/Ashton Kutcher can impact your life even 2% as profoundly as the Congress, your state legislature and the U.S. Supreme Court. And all the reactionary old fucks who end up electing your local school board.

Posted by: Slash at April 30, 2010 12:27 PM

The problem is that this isn't a list of the 100 most influential people in America, according to TIME, it's a list of the 100 most influential people in the WORLD!!! It's the most blinkered ethnocentric view I have ever seen from a publication that's supposed to be a global publication.

Posted by: PaddyDog at April 30, 2010 12:30 PM

i watch glee and i didn't even know her name.

::yawn::

if anyone on that show is influential it's sue fucking sylvester, damnit! jane lynch rules and not just because of glee.

COME ON!!

Posted by: stopthemadness at April 30, 2010 12:32 PM

I've heard of 14 of them! Damn I rock!

Posted by: Todd at April 30, 2010 12:34 PM

I will go out on a limb and say that Madonna HAS impacted the lives of women, by pushing the boundaries of what is acceptable for women performers. She got people to argue about women's sexuality, their power over themselves and others, and what it means to express yourself. While most women would not copy her exactly (I'm not brave like Sue Sylvester to go walking around in a cone bra), I still think she helped redefine the boundaries of women as powerful players in media.

Posted by: Stella at April 30, 2010 12:51 PM

That picture certainly influenced me to step away from the computer and go enjoy the sunny day. Yikes.

Posted by: schrome at April 30, 2010 12:54 PM

RE Stella: I'll grant that Madonna influenced some attitudes (whether for the better or not is debatable), but unless laws that affect women got measurably better as a direct result of Madonna, swing and a miss on truly influential (by my standard). Getting women to walk around with their tits hanging out, banging everything in sight isn't much of an improvement, as far as I'm concerned. Madonna leveraged her image masterfully, I'll give her that. But I don't think she gets credit for much else. I don't blame her for it, either. Influence is a two-edged sword. If you grant her or any other celebrity points for influencing people positively, you also have to concede (to those who would argue it) that they influence people negatively as well and that they have to acknowledge that negative influence if they're going to seek credit for the positive influence.

Posted by: Slash at April 30, 2010 1:00 PM

This is one of those days where I daydream about the apocalypse and how nice it's going to be. No more talking heads telling us who's important. No more celebrity culture. No more flacid worrying and hand wringing over the future. We'll be too busy living in caves fighting off the mutant hordes.

I can't WAIT.

{sorry, in a bit of a dark place today.}

Posted by: TylerDFC at April 30, 2010 1:03 PM

I don't disagree that her influence has been both negative as well as positive(tits hanging out, indeed), however, if you're looking at 'influence', I don't think you should measure someone's impact solely on a macro level or by how laws may or may not changed. I think she has been influential on our culture, that is all.

And in terms of women entertainers, I think she's been influential as hell. Few entertainers can say that their music has staying power, and yet, in 2010 a tv show devoted an entire episode to her ouevre. Perhaps that's not world changing, but it is influential.

Posted by: Stella at April 30, 2010 1:15 PM

Tyler, either you're in a dark place emotionally, or you're playing Fallout.
Sometimes I wonder if a nuclear meltdown wouldn't be the best thing for us.

Posted by: Stella at April 30, 2010 1:16 PM

These people can't be too influential because I haven't heard of MOST of them. And the ones I have heard of, I turn off the radio or TV every time their name is mentioned. OK, I guess they influence me to turn pieces of equipment off.

Posted by: BWeaves at April 30, 2010 1:26 PM

And all the reactionary old fucks who end up electing your local school board.

Posted by: Slash at April 30, 2010 12:27 PM
---
This? Is exactly right. Your city council, your county commission, your school board, hell, your sewer board, in all those boring and endless meetings they hold, will do more to affect your day to day life next month than Congress or Madonna will in 100 years.

This gives me an opportunity to throw in that we have a white nationalist running for school board. Life just got a little more interesting. Probably be more fun than we've had since the Socialists ran a candidate for city council on a platform of "U.S. out of Nicaragua NOW!" (It was a few years ago.)

Posted by: , at April 30, 2010 1:36 PM

Were you drunk when you wrote those first few paragraphs? Or did you just give up on trying to write clearly?

Posted by: ERM at April 30, 2010 2:14 PM

Really? Gaga?

That just makes me sad

Posted by: Nadine at April 30, 2010 2:37 PM

I'm a bit surprised by some of these comments. Questioning who should be on this list of artists is, of course, legitimate. Also, this list is very American-centric.

However, I think people who influence culture have just as much right to be on a list of 100 most important people as lawmakers and activists. Laws and school board policies are not things people live for. The music you listen to and the films you watch and books you read are just as important as the laws we live by. Culture is how we communicate with and connect to the people around us. Its how we form our identity.

Finally, there is no fucking way Lea Michele should be on this list. You could expand it to 1,000 and she still shouldn't be on this list.

Posted by: jR at April 30, 2010 2:54 PM

Influential how? What does Robert Pattison do that makes him influential? and to who? Same for all the other actors, they just play roles in films, how it that influential on anything? Also, most of those musicians (not Prince, he rules) aren't doing anything remotely new or innovative, even the ones that are don't influence much outside of music, which honestly doesn't really matter. I don't get it.

Posted by: Steph at April 30, 2010 3:44 PM

esme, I less than three you now.

Posted by: Patty O'Green at April 30, 2010 3:56 PM

Nadine, you know I'll stand with you on that one.

I only came in here because I'm hung over, out of weed, and hoping that shitting all over Gaga for a bit will make me feel better.

I'd apologize for beating a dead horse, but in her case I'd rather fuck a dead horse than her no talent bedazzled vagooter. I wouldn't hit that with a death row inmate's dick. If it weren't for her forgettable and emotionless "music" and the mountains of cash she makes for assholes in suits we would have taken this monster out back and put it down by now. She's like that creepy lady at the end of the street with cats who you are pretty sure as a kid eats little children in her basement and keeps their bones as a xylophone. Just let her fucking go away already.

Dammit. It didn't work. I still feel like ass, but slightly more angry, and now I have gas.

Posted by: Roaddog at April 30, 2010 4:01 PM

Bansky was an underground British grafitti artist who tagged political and sociological scenes and made a name for himself via the web... But who has he influenced...

I for one am shocked that Dustin Rowles did not top the list... I mean without him I would not know the power of RR!

Posted by: El L Cool J at April 30, 2010 4:33 PM

@TylerDFC:

I totally feel you. I'm always saying to my mom, "Yeahhh, apocalypse! Bring it on, man!" She just laughs and then gives me a little side-eye.

Seriously, though, either a) I'll be dead and won't care or b) I'll have my priorities forcefully rearranged to things that actually matter, like finding food and shelter, spearing zombies, and helping my fellow man. As opposed to blabbing on the Internet all day.

Posted by: MM at April 30, 2010 4:58 PM

RE STELLA!!! (sorry, had to do that):
"And in terms of women entertainers, I think she's been influential as hell. Few entertainers can say that their music has staying power, and yet, in 2010 a tv show devoted an entire episode to her ouevre. Perhaps that's not world changing, but it is influential."

Eh, po-tay-to, po-tah-to. It's just kind of galling to hear Madonna or Lady Gaga getting credit for being "influential" by basically manipulating their image (something that is entirely self-serving) and not much else. I wonder how many of the "strong" women who've been "influenced" by Madonna can name either woman on the U.S. Supreme Court right now. Or the first one to serve on it? I'm betting less than 30%.

It's really too bad that being influential in entertainment is considered so important, in the 20th century.

Posted by: Slash at April 30, 2010 5:11 PM

Stella: That would be awesome.

MM: "What the world needs now is Skynet." has become one of my favorite grumbled phrases. Also my band, when I have it, will be called Misanthropy Rising.

Damn, I'm in a bad mood.

Posted by: TylerDFC at April 30, 2010 5:16 PM

The problem here is that writing as an art has gone to hell, so the talentless hacks working at time dont know the definition of Influence. I can tell you this much it definitely isn't synonomous with how many google searches were done in your name. Stop letting 12 year old girls run our country. If your the parent of a twelve year old girl do me a three favors.

1. Reduce the amount of their allowance. If they can't buy stuff corporations will stop caring what they think.

2. Educate them. Turn off their Televisions and give them books. Preferably not ones that involve fapping to glittery vampires.

3. Beat them. Frequently. Fear is an amazing motivator.(Don't do this. If you contemplated it stop having children.)

Posted by: Blank at April 30, 2010 5:25 PM

RE jR:
"Laws and school board policies are not things people live for. The music you listen to and the films you watch and books you read are just as important as the laws we live by. Culture is how we communicate with and connect to the people around us. Its how we form our identity."

Taking your points sentence by sentence:
- And yet they affect your daily life much more than any song or movie. If you don't believe me, break a law and get arrested or start sending a kid to school and you will quickly find out how irrelevant much "art" is in the non-entertainment world.
- No, they're not. Yes, art is important, but as important as law, as a practical matter? No. I'd love to live in a world where a big song and dance number would solve any problem, but I don't and neither do you.
- Sure, in part.
- That's kind of sad, especially considering the "culture" we have (not just now, but pretty much always). It's dumbed down and simplified for all the doofuses out there who want to be told how to think.

Posted by: Slash at April 30, 2010 5:25 PM

A seriously random list.

Posted by: , at April 30, 2010 5:41 PM

Our boss let us do a beer run so there is no way I can be coherent right now; but I'd venture to say that the first woman on the Supreme Court (Sandra Day O'Connor, no? I'm too buzzed to look it up...) or Sotomayor influence women at the same point in their lives.

I would venture to say that these two women influenced me more as an adult than as a child because culturally we put much more importance on cultural icons rather than political or social ones.

If you want to know who IS the most influential person, I would vote for Obama, and before people's heads explode, hear me out: I don't remember who exactly came up with the Power Paradigm, but it goes something like this... Societal power is held by the following groups of people:

-White Men
-White Women
-Black Men
-Black Women

I realize I've left out entire swaths of racial groups, but I'm seriously buzzed and Women's Studies 101 was 12 yrs ago, so my memory's fuzzy.
The fact that the US elected a black man to the Presidency opens up SO MANY actual, real opportunities for us as a society, that I don't think the true impact of his election can be easily quantified. For so many people, the doors that were previously closed, if only in their minds, were flung open in 2009.

So the short answer to a long thought is that: influence is relative.

Posted by: Stella at April 30, 2010 6:18 PM

hmmmm.

Wasn't there a Time magazine back in the '80s? I remember it had some pretty influential cover art. Everyone read Time back then.

Wonder whatever happened to it.

Posted by: Ignatius J. Reilly at April 30, 2010 7:26 PM

RE Slash

You misunderstood me, which I guess was my fault. I wasn't implying that we live in a musical wonderland where problems are solved with a snappy beat and dance-off. Or that this list of artists isn't mostly crap. I just meant that any list of influential people would be incomplete if it didn't include creators along side policy makers, who, of course, should be on there. Political leaders and lawmakers are a given.

By culture I didn't mean Top 40 radio, I meant everything from the bible, to dostoevsky, even to michael jackson. If you don't think the things people create don't matter, why are you even on this site?

In the end though, this is stupid because this list is stupid. Narrowing the worlds most influential people down to 100 is total bullshit. The only reason this was even made is because people get off to list with nice round numbers.

Posted by: jR at May 1, 2010 12:55 AM

For me, the most surprising name on the list is Chetan Bhagat - how he manages to be a popular writer in India remains a mystery...and now, he's actually on the Time's List! someone shoot me right now!

Posted by: Jaideep at May 1, 2010 4:24 AM

I can only match 12 of these names to faces (and I'm a bit iffy about two of those). That either speaks well of my taste or describes a woeful lack of knowledge regarding 21st Century popular culture.

Screw it. I'll consider myself a gentleman of taste and refinement.

Posted by: The Wanderer at May 1, 2010 4:28 AM

I'm a man of wealth and taste myself.

(_)
------->

Posted by: , at May 1, 2010 10:17 AM

My old boss is on this list under top thinkers... I really want to be like oh man if you even knew the half of it. I guess great for my resume that I have a rec letter tho.

Posted by: j at May 1, 2010 11:35 AM

Risible.

Posted by: Recondite at May 1, 2010 1:21 PM

Interesting slip of the tongue...

One of the Most Influential People in the WORLD? Do you know no one has ever heard of Oprah in France ?

Posted by: Candie at May 2, 2010 9:04 AM

Meh, magazine popularity contests are a poor way to judge cultural impact and social influence. If I were a little crazier, I'd rant about how this is merely another sop thrown to us plebs by the elites to make us feel like what we think is important.

Good to see Gabe and Tycho up there though; they've pretty much double-handedly created the concept of a gamer culture outside of the mindless commercialism advocated by Activision, EA, and SpikeTV.

Posted by: Heron at May 3, 2010 11:46 AM

MICHAEL JACKSON!!!HELLO???

Posted by: mjlover4life!! at May 24, 2010 7:53 PM