Actor Christian Bale Assaulted By Chinese Government Thugs

If you like movies, I have a question for you - What do Christian Bale and Ashton Kutcher have in common? If you're struggling with this one, here's a hint - The commonality is blatantly obvious.

Oh! They're both actors!

No, that's not it. Ashton Kutcher is an actor in name only. Actually, his job, regardless of his role, is to be Ashton Kutcher and look charming and cheerful in front of the camera while saying his lines. Christian Bale is an actor, an exceedingly fine actor. The only thing I can think of that the two have in common is that they're both good-looking men who work in the film industry.

And Christian Bale is by far the more interesting man. He was in the news recently for confronting Chinese guards while attempting to visit Chen Guangcheng, a blind political activist who is under house arrest for speaking out against the Chinese governments. Bale was in China for the premiere of the Chinese film, "The Flowers of War," in which he starred.

"What I really wanted to do was to meet the man, shake his hand and say what an inspiration he is," said Bale. After an eight-hour journey, the star of "Batman Begins" and "The Fighter" (Oscar for best supporting actor) was physically assaulted by the guards, and the incident was recorded by CNN cameras. He deflects attention from himself to the bravery of activists supporting Chen. "The local people who are standing up to the authorities and insisting on going to visit Chen and his family and getting beaten up for it, and my understanding, getting detained for it and everything. I want to support what they are doing."

After hearing about this, I watched "Harsh Times" (2005), starring Christian Bale and Eva Longoria. It's a dark story about an ex-Marine who had served heroically in Afghanistan, only to be rejected in his attempts to find a job in law enforcement. It's the kind of film that deserves Oscars, but will be dismissed by critics and audiences because it's so brutally realistic. It portrays the tragic flaws of a man who is ideally suited for extreme combat but is psychologically damaged by his war experiences. It reveals how a person can have many character strengths combined with many character weaknesses. If you prefer cheerful movies with happy endings, this one isn't for you. But if you have the guts to watch a painful, gritty story, check out Christian Bale's performance and try to imagine Ashton Kutcher doing that.

Betcha can't.

Post by Dennis E. Coates, Ph.D., Copyright 2011. Building Personal Strength .