Have you seen this recent report about Natalie Portman and her Oscar trophy? Apparently, she thinks of it as something of an idol. Here are her thoughts:
“I don’t know where it is,” Portman told The Hollywood Reporter when asked about where she keeps the Best Actress Oscar she won in 2010 for her role in “Black Swan.” “I think it’s in the safe or something. I don’t know. I haven’t seen it in a while. I mean, [‘Black Swan’ director] Darren [Aronofsky] actually said to me something when we were in that whole thing that resonated so deeply. I was reading the story of Abraham to my child and talking about, like, not worshipping false idols. And this is literally like gold men. This is literally worshipping gold idols — if you worship it. That’s why it’s not displayed on the wall. It’s a false idol.” [from the Huffington Post article]
I thought this little report was kinda cool. Natalie Portman has been my favorite actress for some time. And Black Swan was easily my favorite film of 2010. And there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that she deserved that Oscar. So to hear about the way she has avoided showcasing it is pretty incredible to me, not to mention convicting.
I had this story in the back of my mind as I was reading through Josephus’ Antiquities of the Jews. As I was reading through it I found this interesting report about the way that Jews viewed trophies won during athletic games. After mentioning that the Jews were not happy with the games in general (including competition in the nude and the overall brutality of it all), Josephus gives us an interesting insight into how second temple Jews viewed trophies in particular as the most egregious problem with the games.
[A]bove all the rest, the trophies gave most distaste to the Jews, for as they imagined them to be images, included within the armor that hung round about them, they were sorely displeased at them, because it was not the custom of their country to pay honors to such images. (Ant. 15.8.1 [15.276]; trans. by Whiston)
I don’t think I had ever thought about ancient Jewish people being opposed to trophies for religious reasons, although it makes sense and is completely consistent with the prohibitions of images in the OT. It seems that Natalie Portman’s decision not to display her Oscar trophy is in good keeping with her Jewish heritage.
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