Natalie Portman

[angel17987]

The big problem I have with her, other than the horrible acting and being overhyped, is that she tries soooooo hard to sound smart and superior. Most truly intelligent people are content with their minds and will just be well spoken and say interesting things, but she just babbles incoherently using big words that don't apply to the subject and strange sentence structure. It sounds like she's trying to overcompensate for just being average, so she just decides to try and confuse people. It's like "I'm not that deep so let me just put a whole bunch of big random words in a sentence and then people will be blown away by my genius!" She doesn't impress me at all.

[foxfair]

The big problem I have with her, other than the horrible acting and being overhyped, is that she tries soooooo hard to sound smart and superior.

'Zackly, angel17987. And, as an example? We have:

I've been thinking lately about the widening gap between physical and emotional intimacy, which is just strengthened by computers, communicating all day through a mechanical intermediary

As Chiqui said: uh, duh. Is there anyone familiar with the phenomenon known as the internet who hasn't had a version of this deep and profound thought? Maybe we didn't feel the need to use phrases like "mechanical intermediary" and instead said something like, I dunno - 'machine'?

The accusation of superficiality re: her understanding of the country (Israel) she has so much apparent love for and so much to say is spot on. The fact that she even made that draft-dodging comment (yes, I understand it was inaccurate). We here in N America may feel as if there's nothing particularly striking about her comments, or about the "pacifist" quote/weasel-word when questioned on it, but it is true that in Israel her stance would be confounding to say the least. How could she be so clueless as to not realize this? Is it possible her great appreciation for her country of birth is informed primarily by...not a lot of real thought at all? I am not Israeli, have never been there, and I seem to have a better understanding of Israeli culture than NP.

*None of my statements are meant to be political, I've kept my personal political views out of this.

[angel17987]

Foxfair said:

As Chiqui said: uh, duh. Is there anyone familiar with the phenomenon known as the internet who hasn't had a version of this deep and profound thought? Maybe we didn't feel the need to use phrases like "mechanical intermediary" and instead said something like, I dunno - 'machine'?

Lol! I bet she plans all her quotes in advance. I'm picturing her an hour before she's scheduled to do an interview pouring over a Thesaurus thinking, "Okay I should talk about the Internet. What are some words I can use instead of 'machine' that will enforce the belief that I am brilliant? Ah! Here we go 'mechanical' and 'intermediary.' Perfect!"
She may very well be a bright girl, but I highly doubt she's as smart as she tries to make herself out to be. She always comes across as trying overly hard to me.

[jaghetersimon]

I also think that it's funny that NP went to the Oscars with Lior Levo, who starred in Kippur, an excellent film that scrutinized the military experience in Israel. Did Natalie even bother to see her boyfriend's movie? Because if she did, she might rethink her comments about the army and about her country in general.

And another thing: she also just made a movie with Amos Gitai, who directed Kippur and many other fantastic and insightful movies about the Israeli experience. So she's definitely been in contact with some contemporary Israeli artists who actively analyze and question their native country. Then why so vacuous, Natalie? My guess is that she's seen these films and their message were lost on her. Again, she's naive, spoiled and book smart.

[rosetta]

angel17987 said:

Most truly intelligent people are content with their minds and will just be well spoken and say interesting things, but she just babbles incoherently using big words that don't apply to the subject and strange sentence structure. It sounds like she's trying to overcompensate for just being average, so she just decides to try and confuse people. It's like "I'm not that deep so let me just put a whole bunch of big random words in a sentence and then people will be blown away by my genius!" She doesn't impress me at all.

I couldn't agree more. But what cracked me up once was her response to the "least favorite word" question on Inside the Actor's Studio: "Genius--it's a really pretentious word." Coming from someone who went to Harvard, where a lot of really smart/close to genius-level people attend, this made her sound almost intimidated by them. I think she's insecure and has this need to prove herself as really really smart, which would explain the nonsensical babbling and snottiness towards actual geniuses.

This just struck me as one of the least self-aware things that has ever come out of her mouth. She's incredibly pretentious herself and is fawned all over as a near-genius by the media. Like jaghetersimon stated, she's book-smart and can probably memorize and spit back material easily. But other than that, nope.

ETA: Fugliest purse ever.

[chiqui]

As Chiqui said: uh, duh. Is there anyone familiar with the phenomenon known as the internet who hasn't had a version of this deep and profound thought? Maybe we didn't feel the need to use phrases like "mechanical intermediary" and instead said something like, I dunno - 'machine'?

This cracks me because what does she think a telephone is? Or the US postal service, which uses the mechanical intermediaries of planes, trucks, and mail-sorting machines?

[Coffeecakes]

Aw hell no. I would only go out with a purse like that if I were going to the movies! Gotta sneak in some treats ya'll! ;D

[fanatic]

ooops. I like it...but then again my friends often whine about the size of my purses all the time. What can I say, I like a good tote!

[nuharoo]

Most truly intelligent people are content with their minds and will just be well spoken and say interesting things

Tell me about it. From what I know, most geniuses tend to be a little more simple with their vocabulary and usually more humble and affable. I mean, Einstein and Marie Curie would have never run around giving interviews and pretentiously pontificating. Both were busy changing the world for the better. In fact, interestingly Marie Curie was the first female to recieve the Nobel Prize and she was hounded almost nonstop by the press. She usually rebuffed reporters.

She always sounds so vacuous when she discusses her love for Israel

From what I have read, yes she certainly does. I wish someone would tell this moron that Israel is not the latest trendy cause.

[Deleted]

She may very well be a bright girl, but I highly doubt she's as smart as she tries to make herself out to be. She always comes across as trying overly hard to me.

Maybe a lot of her pretentious comments and annoyingly "impressive" vocabulary is her attempt to live up to her (publicist's) image as the Harvard genius. It doesn't make it any less annoying but she could be knowingly overcompensating because she believes that she has to live up to her image as the smartest girl in Hollywood and isn't really that secure in her intelligence level. I mean, I am sure she came across some outstandingly intelligent people when she was at Harvard and that experience alone could have made her question her own level of intelligence and articulateness. Of course, if my theory were true, she would probably show more humility where her fabulous intelligence is concerned. So... just a thought.