Friday, April 21, 2017

Three Canadians Who Made It To Time's 2017 Most Influential People List

Image result for Time's Most Influential List For 2017We'll admit it — when an American news outlet puts out a list of important people in the world, we immediately start looking for the Canadians who are on it.
Call it a self-esteem issue, call it Canadian pride, but whatever it is, it never fails to send a shiver of happiness down our spines as we see some of the best and brightest from our country recognized on a world stage.
This year, Time magazine's list of the 100 most influential people celebrated three Canadians who made their impact in various ways: Samantha Bee, Margaret Atwood and Ryan Reynolds.

Host/Executive Producer Samantha Bee of 'Full Frontal With Samantha Bee' poses in the green room during the TCA Turner Winter Press Tour 2017.
According to an editor's note from last year, the list is chosen to represent people "who have lessons to teach .. and the power to make us think."
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is perhaps notable in his absence, though he did make the list last year, and was a close runner-up in the readers' choice poll, which was eventually won by Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte.

Samantha Bee
samantha bee
Samantha Bee, whose late-night show "Full Frontal with Samantha Bee" has been the focus of immense amounts of acclaim, particularly since Donald Trump was named president-elect in November, was born in Toronto, and has been doing her part to make sure Americans know their place.
“There’s no room in Canada for discontented Americans,” she said in an interview with the Washington Post in July 2016. “Stay where you are. Live in your mess.”
As fellow comedian Jane Curtin says in her write-up about Bee in Time, "She has the courage and the ability to plant those little feet, lean just slightly into the camera and fire off a staggering spray of machine-gun bullet points laced with delicious asides for colour. She is as smart as a whip and, as far as I'm concerned, always on the side of right and funny."
Margaret Atwood
margaret atwood
Just when you think Margaret Atwood can't be celebrated any further, a whole new generation discovers "A Handmaid's Tale," its points become increasingly relevant and she's back up at the top.
In a video accompanying the Time magazine piece, Elisabeth Moss (who is starring in the new Hulu series based on the book) notes, "You told me that everything that happens in 'The Handmaid's Tale has happened ... somewhere.'" Atwood's look of bemusement, her seen-it-all-and-will-see-it-again expression perfectly encapsulates this literary legend's take on the world, and why her wise voice is as important now as it ever was.
Ryan Reynolds
ryan reynolds
Ryan Reynolds has been the class clown, the superhero, and the family man who can't get enough of his kids. So it's understandable why Helen Mirren, writing about him in Time, would describe him as "the Everyman, but somehow with more of everything: wit, elegance, looks and general hunkiness."
Continuing to be proud of his Vancouver upbringing, Reynolds almost too perfectly encapsulates the idea of the Canadian star — ruggedly good-looking, an oh-shucks demeanour and an incredible, kickass talent.
But probably our favourite thing about him is how Mirren describes his love for women, because what could be more telling about a father to two daughters? "He likes them in the most simple, direct, unadorned way: for their humanity."

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