the shape we're in

Once again, Time magazine has revealed the 100 people whom the editors perceive as most influential in the world right now. They are broken into five supposedly distinct categories: Artists & Entertainers, Scientists & Thinkers, Leaders & Revolutionaries, Builders & Titans, and Heroes & Pioneers. I say supposedly because in last year's issue there was much cross-over, especially between the artists/entertainers and everyone else.

Let's take a closer look at some of those who showed up in the categories, shall we?

Artists & Entertainers

• Justin Timberlake brought the sexy back... whatever that means. I just don't get his appeal.
• Martin Scorsese won an Oscar many believe was long overdue. I've had The Departed for about a month now - still haven't watched it.
• America Ferrera is no ugly betty.

Leaders & Revolutionaries

• Tzipi Livni has the best name. She previously advised Ariel Sharon.
• Omar Hassan al-Bashir is the dictator of the Sudan and the butcher of Darfur. He's proof that it's not just good people who make the list.
• Omigoodness, Hillary is here? Shocked! Shocked, I am! And, yes, her main rival made it, too.

Heroes & Pioneers

• Oprah gets in this category for opening a girl's school in Africa.
• Drew Gilpin Faust is the first female president of Harvard - you know, where Elle Woods attended law school.
• Tony Dungy was the first African American coach to take his team to the Super Bowl. Hmmm... where is that team from?

Scientists & Thinkers

• Al Gore got here by making a horror movie.
• John Mather is developing the James Webb Space Telescope.
• Dr. Nora Volkow researches the influences of drugs on the brain.

Builders & Titans

• Pony Ma is the main Internet guy in China.
• Lakshmi Mittal runs the world's largest steel company.
• Rhonda Byrne wrote a little book that Oprah loved, sparking a phenomenon. Not necessarily a good thing, because the book offers nothing that hasn't been said before.

Surely there are some religious leaders sprinkled around, right? Let's see:

• Peter Akinola, Archbishop of Nigeria for the Anglican church - sharp critic of the Episcopal Church
• Benedict XVI, Pope of the Roman Catholic Church

So... two. Two religious leaders. Both Christians - no Jews, no Muslims, no Hindus. Interesting...

Here is last year's post about the Time 100 issue of May 2006.

The People Who Shape Our World (?)

The current issue of Time lists 100 men and women "whose power, talent or moral example is transforming our world." These are the people whom the writers and editors of one of the three major news magazines (Newsweek and U.S. News & World Report being the other two) believe are the mover and shakers of Earth.

The most interesting picks come from the Artists & Entertainers section, which in itself seems to be growing more enormous and diverse even as I type these words. Practically anything these days can come in the form of entertainment. Even the simple idea of inviting friends over for the evening and serving them dinner is seen as entertaining (I know that I step into Andy Rooney territory when I ask, "Why is that?"). When our children say they are bored, we encourage them to find ways to entertain themselves. A few of the people in this section are J.J. Abrams, Tyra Banks, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Rachael Ray, and Howard Stern.
I'm not sure how the list is organized in the magazine, but on the Time website, the Artists & Entertainers are placed on the top of the list. At first glance it is assumed that this is an alphabetical choice, but this is not the case. Builders & Titans are at the bottom of the list; just above them are the Heroes & Pioneers. The Time readers (or at least those who visit the website) are led to believe that Time places the highest value upon those that can entertain us. Out of twenty-five Artists & Entertainers, eighteen are American-born.

If you take a closer look at the other groups, you will find that even they are infiltrated by entertainers. Oprah (her last name is given on the website, but when she has a magazine called O and everyone knows that its hers, does she really need a surname anymore?) shows up in Leaders & Revolutionaries. Bono, Angelina Jolie, and Paul Simon are featured in Heroes & Pioneers; Katie Couric is also in this section, and she can certainly be counted as a celebrity if not quite an entertainer.

Clearly, Time thinks that entertainers are the most powerful, "transforming" force on earth. If they are, what does that say about the world we live in?

UPDATE: Tim Challies has more on the list (go here). [Welcome, Challies readers!]