Top 10 List | Top Ten Lists

Even some of the biggest names and the most talented folks have their own faults and shortcomings. They tend to overdo it, seeking much bigger fame than they could take on. This top 10 list focuses on a large number of wrongdoers who’ve failed to take home the bacon. A list of top 10 worst actors of the 21st Century would not be the same without the following actors.

1. Miley Cyrus:

Miley Cyrus is the daughter of one of the most famous country singer Billy Ray Cyrus. Her birth name is Destiny Hope, which was given to her by her parents who yearned for her to succeed in life. Her childhood name was Smiley, as she was always cheerful in nature. Smiley was eventually shortened to Miley.

In 2005, Miley landed a lead role in the new Disney series, Hannah Montana, after originally being rejected for being too small and too young. On the show, she played an average teen who lived a double life as a famous pop singer.

Hannah Montana became one of the most watched shows for kids between ages 6 and 14. Its success continued in song with the release of the Hannah Montana soundtrack album, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Top 200 and eventually became a triple platinum.

In spite of her initial success, she was widely mauled for her first serious acting role. Critics panned her performance in a romantic drama, The Last Song, her first bid at serious acting. One critic even went as far as to compare Cyrus to Britney Spears’ disreputable and ill-famed movie Crossroads.

2. Britney Spears:

Number 1 brings us to number 2: Britney Spears.

A “Pop Phenomenon” does not begin to describe Britney Spears. The name is synonymous with legend, fame and beauty around the world. So well-known is Britney Spears now that it is difficult to envision a world without her.

Ever since she was 7, she would perform in front of the TV for her guests who would arrive at her home. Instead of playing with the other kids at recess in schools, she would gather her friends and hold Star Search competitions. At 8, she unsuccessfully bid for the Disney Channel’s New Mickey Mouse Club. She big again at age 11 and was chosen for the cast, alongside rising stars like Justin Timberlake and Keri Russell.

Britney rose to fame in December of 1998 when she landed a contract with Jive Records. Her first single, Baby One More Time, topped the charts. She took on a lot of criticism for wearing a skimpy Catholic schoolgirl uniform. She fired back, insisting she was innocent Southern girl.

Over the years, she’s won numerous awards, including a Grammy, 6 MTV Video awards and 9 Billboard Music Awards. She has sold over 100 million albums worldwide, making her one of the bestselling music phenomena worldwide.

With great fame comes controversy. Britney has had a tumultuous life. She’s been married, had kids and got divorced. Then she went insane, brought on by post-partum, but now things seem to be back to normal.

This controversial figure comes in at number two for her unsuccessful acting career. Her film Crossroads (2002) received mostly negative reviews and had a 14% approval rating on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes. Elizabeth Weitzman noted that the film had no cohesive direction and failed to provide an intelligent dialogue or a comprehensible plot.

3. John Travolta:

Travolta is a multi-Golden Globe award winner who somewhat deserves to be on this list. He started his acting career in the 19870s and also was nominated for an Academy award for his work on Pulp Fiction and Saturday Night Fever.

His movie Battlefield Earth was a total disaster, bagging 9 Razzies and a whopping 2 stars from me. He also received a 2% rotten rating on the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. The consensus was that the film was “ugly, campy and poorly acted .”

He was also nominated for the Worst Actor Award for the movie Perfect, which was neither a commercial nor critical success. The movie was underappreciated and criticized for being a tight performance.

Despite his shortcomings, John Travolta is one of the most gifted actors in the movie industry. He can play almost any role, but due to poor choices and bad mixtures, he got himself into pitiable productions. His sour image still has not recovered since Battlefield Earth.

4. Cameron Diaz:

Cameron Diaz has had many strong performances, including Vanilla Sky, Gangs of New York, The Mask and her voiceover in Shrek.

She rose to fame in the 1990s and has received the Golden Globe nominations for her performances in the movies There’s Something About Mary, Being John Malkovitch, Vanilla Sky and Gangs of New York.

In 2010, Diaz was ranked by Forbes Magazine as the richest Hispanic female celebrity, ranking at 60 of the 100 wealthiest.

The movie The Box landed her on this list. She was dishonoured at the Lazzies Award with the “There’s Always Waitressing Award”. Her horrible southern accent and her deer caught in headlights facial expression she wore in the entire film were criticized.

5. Justin Timberlake:

Acting is just the one thing that Timberlake, the former member of NSYNC, cannot do.

At 31, he’s gained six Grammys, a couple of Emmys and two solo albums. I’m still smitten and proud of his accomplishments in music. I never expected to see him as the mega hit he is today. Despite singing, dancing and owning on “Saturday Night Life,” Mr. JT has a successful clothingline, William Rast; a burgeoning restaurant franchise in Southern Hospitality in New York City, a record label, Tennman Records.

His acting skills need a bit of a touch up. His films Friends with Benefits, The Social Network and Bad Teacher, were not his best films. He was not able to stand out with the crowd, especially in Bad Teacher, where he paired up with another actor on this list Cameron Diaz. Only time will tell if this singer will become a good actor.

Revolutions have been transforming our world for the past decade or so. Social and Political movements have created a distinct epoch and left a mark which paved way for significant changes.

1. Information Technology Revolution:

We are amidst the information technology revolution. Within recent years, the information technology revolution has transformed North American society, leading to new types of work processes and business organizations. Schools are now connected widely by the internet and other technologies such as SmartTech. There is even less of a reliance on traditional pen and paper methods.

2. Orange Revolution, 2004-2005:

On November 22, 2004, thousands of peaceful protestors filled the Independent Square in Kiev to protest election results in Ukraine and the power of the elitist government to falsify election results. These non-violent protests became known as the Orange Revolution. On December 3rd, a victory ensued for Orange Revolutionists and Viktor Yushcenko supporters. The Supreme Court of Ukraine called for a recount and a new election. Under the scrutiny of international observers, this election went off without a hitch. Yushchenko succeeded over the former Prime Minister Yanukovych. As part of the Orange Revolution, the constitution changed and shifted the power from the Prime Minister to the parliament.

3. Egyptian Revolution, 2011:

Inspired by the Tunisian Revolution, the Egyptian Revolution of 2011 took place after a January 25, 2011 popular uprising. Multitudes of protesters necessitated the removal of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak from power. At least 846 people killed and 6,000 were injured in clashes between the military and the people in major cities such as Cairo and Alexandria. On 11 February, Mubarak resigned from office after widespread international criticism. The military took over the country until a new president would be elected in the fall of 2011.

4. Tunisian Revolution, 2010-2011:

The Tunisian began in December 2010 and led to the ousting of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in January, 2011. Food Inflation, High Unemployment Rates and Political Corruptness were some of the grievances that revolutionists felt. The revolution sparked waves of protests in Egypt and other Arab countries (Arab Spring).

5. Bolivarian Revolution, 2007:

The revolution refers to a leftish social and political movement in Venezuela. The movement was led by Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez. The “Bolivarian Revolution” is named after Simón Bolívar who was prominent in the Spanish American wars of independence and achieved the independence of most of northern Latin America from Spanish rule. The Bolivarian Revolution aimed for democracy, economic independence, equitable distribution of revenues, and an end to corruption in Venezuela.

Many Canadians are exemplary 21st century political scientists. The scholars on this top 10 list have revolutionized literature and have paved the way for greater debates. Many of them are visiting scholars in universities around the world and are recognized as the best in the fields.  As such here are the top 10 21^st Century political science scholars in Canada.

1. Michael Ignatieff:

Many remember might remember Ignatieff as the former leader of the Liberal Party, the former opposition party of Canada. His poor judgment and leadership skills led to the ultimate downfall of the party in the May 2011 election.

Before he was a politician, he was a scholar, writer and professor who worked in Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States. He immensely wrote in the field of International Relations on the topic of nation building, peacekeeping and the international responsibilities of Western nations. After leaving politics in 2011, Ignatieff took on a teaching position at University of Toronto where he will continue to build on his scholarly writings.

2. Robert W. Cox:

A former political science professor and United Nations officer, Robert W. Cox is another 20^th and 21^st century political science scholar in Canada. He has changed and paved way for an innovative critical Political Economy thought. Many scholars like Stephen Gill were influenced by Cox and are continuing Cox`s work and tradition. He is most famous for what is now labeled as Neo-Gramscian Thought. Here he focuses on a critical analysis of IR as opposed to a problem solving one.

3. Leo Panitch:

Dr. Leo Panitch has been teaching at York University for the past 27 years. He is a Marxist scholar who typically uses imperialist thought to describe United States actions in 21^st Century. He is currently an editor at Socialist Register, which provides free articles for everyone to read. Although Marxist, he does challenge Karl Marx`s interpretation of trade unions helping people to become class conscious in the capitalist world. He believes trade unions are compatible with capitalism.

4. Shannon Bell:

If you thought political theory is boring and too classic, you need to immerse yourself in Shannon Bell`s literature. She has been a political science professor at York University since 1995. Since becoming a professor and obtaining her PhD she has revolutionized post-modern political theory in Canada. Her publications include: Writing and Rewriting the Prostitute Body, Whore Carnival and Bad Attitude/s on Trial. Furthermore, her courses on cyberspace politics and Post Identity politics are popular amongst students and are easily filled.

In her recently published book, Fast Feminism, she adds a personal touch to the major feminist political theory assumptions. She focuses on the hyper masculinity of feminist by combining traditional feminist theories with that of speed politics and the work of Paul Varilio.

Graduate students at York University are lucky to have such a scholar as their mentor.

5. Gad Horowitz:

This political scholar in Canada has led us to understand why Canada is more conservative than United States and why the country is more tolerant of Socialism. Unlike the United States, Canada is a compact of British and French influences. Many conservative loyalists moved from the United States to Canada during the American Revolution. They helped shape collectivist policies which Dr. Horowitz defines as being part of Canada since its inception. Socialism, for him, came out of Conservatism and is also collective. This is all explained in his theory of Red Tory.

Dr. Horowitz is a professor at University of Toronto where he teaches Canadian Politics and Political Theory.