hard to see Jackie for me...I just see Natalie!

@silverhawkins said:

If, like me, you found Natalie Portman's accent as Jackie infuriating and weird - turns out, that's just how she spoke. I found this explainer! http://www.vox.com/culture/2017/2/7/14442410/jackie-kennedy-accent-natalie-portman

Yes, I always knew that was her public voice. Not sure why so many are up in arms. They open their mouths about it without even having heard Jackie first.

@SWLinPHX said:

Yes, I always knew that was her public voice. Not sure why so many are up in arms. They open their mouths about it without even having heard Jackie first.

But for a certain generation that's unsurprising, right? I mean, I'm 28, there's no reason I would have heard the real Jackie speak, so when I heard Nat Portman's version, I was like - wow, this is a weird weird voice she's putting on, and I found it jarring as hell.

But on IMDb they were saying "she sounds nothing like that!" without knowing what they were talking about or ever hearing her. Her White House tour is famous and has been shown in many clips as well as other interviews before election. There is also a recording of a message she left on Michael Jackson's answering machine when she was publishing his book at Doubleday. All anyone has to do is search YouTube and if they aren't even willing to do that, then why make statements when they don't know what she sounds like?

Also, the Kennedy administration was before I was born too, but that doesn't mean I haven't heard her or only know things from when I was alive.

@silverhawkins said:

If, like me, you found Natalie Portman's accent as Jackie infuriating and weird - turns out, that's just how she spoke. I found this explainer! http://www.vox.com/culture/2017/2/7/14442410/jackie-kennedy-accent-natalie-portman

She was spot on. I didn't even realize people were complaining about her accent. The real question is this: Why did Jackie talk that way in the first place? Sort of like a Barbie doll on too much Valium.

@Sloopydrew said: She was spot on. I didn't even realize people were complaining about her accent. The real question is this: Why did Jackie talk that way in the first place? Sort of like a Barbie doll on too much Valium.

Part was her combo New York / finishing school accent and part was being gentile and ladylike, but even then people thought it a bit odd. She wasn't quite as soft spoken in private. There is a speech she gave to save Grand Central Station and that answering machine message in later years as "Jackie O". Other than that though, she never granted a single interview or spoke publicly, even to her contemporary Barbara Walters.

@Sloopydrew said:

@silverhawkins said:

If, like me, you found Natalie Portman's accent as Jackie infuriating and weird - turns out, that's just how she spoke. I found this explainer! http://www.vox.com/culture/2017/2/7/14442410/jackie-kennedy-accent-natalie-portman

She was spot on. I didn't even realize people were complaining about her accent. The real question is this: Why did Jackie talk that way in the first place? Sort of like a Barbie doll on too much Valium.

I also wonder why she spoke like that "Barbie on Valium" sounds about right.

@Xcalat3 said:

@Sloopydrew said:

@silverhawkins said:

If, like me, you found Natalie Portman's accent as Jackie infuriating and weird - turns out, that's just how she spoke. I found this explainer! http://www.vox.com/culture/2017/2/7/14442410/jackie-kennedy-accent-natalie-portman

She was spot on. I didn't even realize people were complaining about her accent. The real question is this: Why did Jackie talk that way in the first place? Sort of like a Barbie doll on too much Valium.

I also wonder why she spoke like that "Barbie on Valium" sounds about right.

Well ... apparently the Academy didn't like it. Either that, or they handed out the wrong envelope, more than once.

@Sloopydrew said: Well ... apparently the Academy didn't like it. Either that, or they handed out the wrong envelope, more than once.

I thought it maybe should've been Portman or Streep over Stone. How 'bout you?

@SWLinPHX said:

@Sloopydrew said: Well ... apparently the Academy didn't like it. Either that, or they handed out the wrong envelope, more than once.

I thought it maybe should've been Portman or Streep over Stone. How 'bout you?

Yeah, definitely. I didn't especially enjoy Jackie, but it was a very proficient performance. Emma Stone's was as well, but I just can't imagine it's particularly taxing to play a girl in love with Ryan Gosling.

@SWLinPHX said:

But on IMDb they were saying "she sounds nothing like that!" without knowing what they were talking about or ever hearing her. Her White House tour is famous and has been shown in many clips as well as other interviews before election. There is also a recording of a message she left on Michael Jackson's answering machine when she was publishing his book at Doubleday. All anyone has to do is search YouTube and if they aren't even willing to do that, then why make statements when they don't know what she sounds like?

Also, the Kennedy administration was before I was born too, but that doesn't mean I haven't heard her or only know things from when I was alive.

I'm with you there! I wasn't born when JFK was president but I knew what she sounded like before I watched this film. And not because of a particular interest in her. My problem actually was with the guy who played Bobby. He would just go in and out of the Boston accent. Most times out! I thought Portman gave a very heartbreaking performance personally. I didn't know this film was really going to be more of a portrait of grief than anything else and I was really impressed with her.

Now I feel like a jerk for thinking that was just about the worst acting I ever saw. However I still can't stand the accent.

@Lilith said:

Now I feel like a jerk for thinking that was just about the worst acting I ever saw. However I still can't stand the accent.

Haha, it's understandable! Her voice is grating! I was just able to look past it but it's totally fine that it took you out of the film. It happens. I would say watch it again while repressing your annoyance but I really couldn't tell anyone to watch such a hard movie twice. :P

@jenx42 said: I'm with you there! I wasn't born when JFK was president but I knew what she sounded like before I watched this film. And not because of a particular interest in her. My problem actually was with the guy who played Bobby. He would just go in and out of the Boston accent. Most times out! I thought Portman gave a very heartbreaking performance personally. I didn't know this film was really going to be more of a portrait of grief than anything else and I was really impressed with her.

I do think it's interesting how such a renowned woman with such mass public interest managed not to give any kind of TV or magazine interview for the next 31 years she lived, despite being in the news a lot.

Did you ever see "A Woman Named Jackie"? It received the Emmy for Best Miniseries in 1991.

@SWLinPHX said:

But on IMDb they were saying "she sounds nothing like that!" without knowing what they were talking about or ever hearing her. Her White House tour is famous and has been shown in many clips as well as other interviews before election. There is also a recording of a message she left on Michael Jackson's answering machine when she was publishing his book at Doubleday. All anyone has to do is search YouTube and if they aren't even willing to do that, then why make statements when they don't know what she sounds like?

Also, the Kennedy administration was before I was born too, but that doesn't mean I haven't heard her or only know things from when I was alive.

People these days are too lazy to even look up the correct spelling of words, so asking them to hunt for a clip on YouTube just seems like too much to ask. Maybe it's because I went to journalism school, but I've been trained to do my research. Usually all it takes is a couple extra minutes to prevent yourself from looking like a dumbass.

EDIT: Weird, I just watched a few clips of Jackie talking on YouTube, and her voice doesn't seem that unusual to me? Maybe her "accent" was more subtle in real life and Natalie Portman was doing an exaggerated version.