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20th Century. Lets Reminisce. by Kid Loco on 2000-05-16 09:15:47

I was just thinking on a bus the other day (I spend 1/12 of every day bus-bound so I do that a lot) about a topic I could have raised, 'cos the fly one's not too inspiring. Here's what I thought. Who were the best people of the 20th Century? Its not easy, there were so many, so I suggest 5 categories; 1. Politician - easy enough to think of one of those. 2. Creator - artist, musician...... 3. Entertainer - Sports Person, Actor.... 4. Revolutionary - Someone who brought about major change. And a 5th category of either another well-deserving, or one who spans categories. My ideas follow. And, man this is a long start.

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My Vote by Kid Loco on 2000-05-16 09:21:56  |  Reply to this

1. Harold Wilson (English Prime Minister 1960's-ish) England's boom-time this century, brought (partly) about by the man from Huddersfield (where I am from). Mr. Wilson it is. 2. Walt Disney - Has had an immense and long lasting effect, not just on the film world, and the cartoon world, but in society too. 3. Muhammed Ali - Not only did he have a great mind, but he spoke what it thought too. And he was probably the most superior man from the rest of their competitors ever. 4. I can't decide. I think Martin Luther King. Everyone knows of him, his work, THAT speech, but I can't help feel that his work (wonderful and inspiring) is sometimes ignored. 5. Neil Armstrong - However I feel about this I can't really deny that to propel a man to the moon was a wonderful acheivement. Armstrong probably isn't the right person, but seeing as he has claimed all the credit so far, I know no different. I've an interesting and apparently true Neil Armstrong story which I will tell soon.

Re: 20th Century. Lets Reminisce. by Amelia on 2000-05-16 16:55:18  |  Reply to this

Wow, Kid, I really resonate with the bus thing -- my commute is an hour each way. Except I just sleep most of the time. Otherwise I would have to go to bed at 9:00 just to get in time to go to work. Anyway, thanks for launching a serious topic for a change. 1. While I appreciate your hometown boosterism, I don't think that England in the 1960s was really a leader in much of anything except pop music and fashion. I'm afraid that if you want Englishman for the role, you would have to go with Churchill, as the most influential in defeating Hitler. I have little doubt that WWII will be remembered as the key event of the 20th Century in the future. 2. Disney is a surprisingly daring choice. But I am actually going to say Gene Rodenberry. The original Star Trek was cheesy as anything, but it made a lot of people think, and has had many real repurcussions in the design of how we live now. 3. Ella Fitzgerald. If any explanation is required, refer to The Cole Porter Songbook. 4. As with #1, I feel that MLK is really a bit provincial. For the sheer number of people whose lives he changed, I would say Ghandi. (Hitler and Mao were actually more influential, but you have insisted that they be "good.") 5. Steve Jobs. This is my own provincialism at work, but I don't care. Re: Re: 20th Century. Lets Reminisce. by Gene Roddenberry - Walt Disney. on 2000-05-17 08:16:14  |  Reply to this   I spent a while thinking about Mr. Roddenbury (I am a trekkie, though not devout) and I came to the conclusion that he has inspired only a small group of people (compared to world population). I understand the point of view, but I just feel Disney has done more, and would be better recognised. Still, I can't argue with opinion... Walt vs. Gene by Amelia on 2000-05-18 10:00:51  |  Reply to this   Disney definitely has a formative effect on a lot of people, especially since we are mostly exposed to his work at a very tender age. But the world of Disney is really a very narrow one, with extremely old-fashioned moral values, an very little opportunity for personal creativity. All the magic is pre-defined. Star Trek, besides being much more politically liberal, is an open-ended construct that encourages people to play along and extrapolate new ideas and interpretations. The Star Trek philosophy also has a more lasting legacy at second hand. Many of the people who have created the high tech world where we meet and express ourselves were strongly influenced by Star Trek and incorporated many of its precepts into the structure of the operatings systems and networks we use today. Hitler? by Kid Loco on 2000-05-18 07:49:36  |  Reply to this   I did actually consider him for a while, but as you say, he wasn't really 'good'.

Re: 20th Century. Lets Reminisce. by Wash! on 2000-05-17 05:44:47  |  Reply to this

Heres my list: 1. Winston, good kid (aparently, I dunno, I wasn’t around at that time) 2. Louise Nurding, gorgeous solo artist 3. Jennifer Aniston, beautiful actress! 4. Change? Dunno much history, so ill go with that dude who had a dream. 5. Des Lynam, Brisitsh sports presenter. Des Lynam is god! Re: Re: 20th Century. Lets Reminisce. by Kid Loco on 2000-05-17 08:18:39  |  Reply to this   Right. 1. Winston Churchill, fair enough each to his own. 2. I was kinda hoping for creative people. 3. Jennifer Aniston is little more than an ornament, and hasn't really entertained more than a hormonally charged teenage population. 4. Martin Luther King - You might wanna know a little more about him really. 5. Well, on the BBC..... Re: Re: Re: 20th Century. Lets Reminisce. by Wash! on 2000-05-17 15:00:36  |  Reply to this   OK. 1. Resolved 2. Alright. Louise isnt too creative, so Ill choose Nwankwo Kanu as my creative guy. 3. Jennifer isnt much more than an ornament? Whats your point? 4. Martin had a dream bout racial equality. See. I isnt too dumb is I? 5. Des Lynam is god...*Hmmm*...everybody knows that!

Re: 20th Century. Lets Reminisce. by tommie on 2000-05-18 14:11:00  |  Reply to this

1. no one 2. Salvador Dali 3. Harry Houdini 4. Nelson Mandella 5. tie: Mother Teresa and Sir Alexander Fleming Re: Re: 20th Century. Lets Reminisce. by Kid Loco on 2000-05-18 23:21:42  |  Reply to this   Man, Salvador Dali. I TOTALLY forgot about him. I actually thought 'Dali - but was he fully 20th Century?' and consigned him to the scrap-heap. And Harry Houdini was a class act too, and his influence remains today.