Time’s 100 most influential people list has felt like a bit of a joke to me in the last few years, because they keep honoring Donald Trump, and I guess that’s part of the whole deal, but also, can we stop? This year, though, it felt like they just mocked him by having Chris Christie write his blurb, so at least I can laugh my way through it.
This year’s version of Time’s yearly list is filled with wonderful celebrities and politicians who helped pave the way. My favorite part, though, is who Time got to write some of the blurbs about these important people. (I will say, though, that I still don’t understand how you can say these are the 100 most influential people of 2019 … in April. What if something changes? What if a new celebrity comes around? I have questions, Time!)
Pioneers
In their Pioneers section, we were gifted with the pairings of Shondra Rhimes writing for Sandra Oh and Trevor Noah writing for Hasan Minhaj. Mirroring each other by having those who worked with them write their blurbs, both Oh and Minhaj’s pieces were beautiful because Rhimes and Noah both shared their importance and their brilliance in what they do.
Noah focused on Minhaj’s voice and why we need it now, more than ever, in the era of Trump, and Rhimes talked about Sandra Oh’s brilliance as a performer and why her work (and her characters) mean so much to people:
“One of the greatest gifts of my creative life has been the opportunity to write words to be spoken by Sandra Oh. The reason is simple: Sandra Oh is a virtuoso. She treats dialogue like notes of music—every word must be played, every syllable correctly toned. She’s always been an extraordinary actor.”
Artists
Many of us love getting a look into the friendships of celebrities. One of those that means a lot to Marvel fans everywhere is the friendship between Brie Larson and Tessa Thompson. Thompson, who plays Valkyrie in Thor: Ragnarok and Avengers: Endgame, wrote a lovely blurb about the Captain Marvel star:
“Brie Larson is a warrior on- and offscreen. When she’s not shattering records and stereotypes as Captain Marvel in Marvel Studios’ first female-led superhero movie—which has made more than $1 billion at the global box office—she’s fighting fiercely for gender equality, inclusivity and an end to sexual harassment in the workplace.”
The Artists section of the Time 100 is where I was most interested in their choice of pairings, because it was honestly a mix of beautiful choices and ones that left me questioning why that person was even asked. It went from Octavia Spencer writing Mahershala Ali’s to … Robert Downey Jr. writing Rami Malek’s?
I will say, RDJ didn’t disappoint …
“Mighta just been destiny … more likely it’s yet another testament to hardworking immigrants raising their kids right and pushing our culture toward the light.”
Icons
I mean, Celine Dion wrote Lady Gaga’s, which is hilarious to me since they basically swapped Vegas shows, but the real shining moment came from Michelle Obama’s piece, written by none other than Beyoncé.
“When I first met her, I was embraced by a warm, regal, confident woman who possessed a reassuring calm, on the eve of President Obama’s historic first Inauguration.
“The way she looked, walked and spoke, in that warm but authoritative tone, we saw our mothers and sisters. She was strong and ambitious and spoke her mind without sacrificing honesty or empathy. That takes a lot of courage and discipline.”
Also, who did Jordan Peele have to pay off to get to write Spike Lee’s? Has anyone checked out Samuel L. Jackson? Is he okay? (It was most definitely because they both won for their screenwriting work at the Academy Awards, but it’s also fun to think about what Samuel L. Jackson would have written about his friend.)
But Peele also didn’t disappoint:
“Spike Lee can’t be described in a single word. I might struggle to do it in 200. He’s a visionary, a trailblazer, a provocateur and a true American original. He’s made more than two dozen films across nearly every genre, and all of them have been completely different. But to me, the common thread across his career may be his impeccable timing—his ability to understand the cultural landscape of the moment and deliver a spot-on message.”
Titans
Ever laugh and just go “what?” Because that’s what I did when I saw that Justin Timberlake wrote one for Tiger Woods:
“Last year, Tiger Woods and I spent time together, just the two of us, talking about being fathers. We discussed how we want our children to see us and how you balance your dedication to them with competitive drive. I told him about how my son, who just turned 4, has started to realize what I do. We bonded over the fact that we wanted our children to watch us at our best. Tiger told me that he hoped his children, who are 11 and 10, would one day see him win a major.”
Leaders
I don’t like to write “lol” in an article, but truly … lol at this Chris Christie nonsense that he wrote about Donald Trump:
“President Trump deserves great credit for daring to try to personally persuade Chairman Kim to join the family of nations. This approach holds the possibility for history-making changes on the Korean Peninsula to make us all safer.”
A list of wonderful people (with some questionable choices thrown in), the Time 100 this year gave the people what they wanted in some regards, and it’s a wonderful thing to see. Congrats to everyone included, and … can we get more Brie Larson and Tessa Thompson in our lives, please?
(image: Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images for Disney)
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