Time came out with its annual list of 100 influential people and there are, per usual, a lot of interesting names on the list. You have the coolest double date in history, (Jay-Z, Beyonce, Barack and Michelle Obama); a Duchess (Kate Middleton), a King (LeBron James), and the queen of destroying happy couples (Shonda Rimes). One of the coolest parts of the list is seeing who wrote the tribute to each honoree. For example, Oprah wrote the piece on Shonda, Danica Patrick wrote about Lindsey Vonn, and Maya Angelou took up her pen for the First Lady. Jodie Foster was behind cover girl Jennifer Lawrence‘s entry.
Jodie wrote of Jennifer:
You’ll remember where you were when you first felt it, how you were stuck to one spot like a small animal considering its end. The Jennifer Lawrence Stare. It cuts a searing swath in your gut. A reckoning. … I remember going to the cutting rooms of Winter’s Bone. I thought, Sure, this girl can act. But, man, this girl can also just be.
We took a look at the entire list and came up with a five out ladies we would like to see on the list and who we would pick to write each tribute.
King helms a little show you just might have heard a thing or two about. Pretty Little Liars has found a way to combine great storytelling with social media savvy that leaves other shows in the dust. Every other show on television wishes it had the Twitter following PLL has. But you don’t have to take my word for it. Entertainment Weekly ran a cover story all about how this show is changing television. Rosie O’Donnell worked with King on Now and Then and knows a thing or two about blazing a trail on television. I would love to read her tribute.
Baldwin became the first openly gay Senator when she was elected in November along with a record number of women in both houses of Congress. Who better to write about the first openly gay Senator than Diane Feinstein, a woman who worked with Harvey Milk, the man who encouraged us all to come out?
Quinn is smart, tough, and is hoping to become the next Mayor of New York City. Some complain that Quinn has sharp elbows and isn’t afraid to use them to get what she wants. Hmm, what woman could relate to complaints about being a tad forceful? I think Hillary Clinton would be the perfect choice to write about Quinn.
Griner, the 6’8″ force of nature who helped Baylor become the first women’s basketball team to go 40-0 in a season, was the first pick in this year’s WNBA draft. She followed all that up with a simple declaration that she is gay and that she hopes to help other people feel comfortable being who they are. She’s an incredible woman with a blindingly bright future (and a hell of a sense of fashion). I pick Lisa Leslie, another stylish, game-changing center, to write about Griner, who will help lead the WNBA in the next generation.
After being screwed out of over 300,000 dollars by the federal government, Windsor brought the case to the U.S. Supreme Court that, fingers crossed, will spell the end of DOMA. I’m not sure you can do much better than Trish’s letter to Edie. But, with all due respect to Trish, there is no one better when it comes to placing events of this magnitude in historical context without losing the true, human emotion at its core quite like Rachel Maddow.
Your turn, who would you add to Time‘s list?
