ISFP: Kira Nerys, “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine”

ISFP – the Composer, the Seeker, the Virtuoso

The leaders of Trek’s two previous incarnations were mostly Thinkers. Both shows could be campy and fun, but also intensely cerebral. So it figures that for the “dark, moody” version of Star Trek, we’d get a pair of commanding officers who are driven by Introverted Feeling.

Sisko and Kira don’t start off as best friends. Their Fi needs time to check the other out and make sure they measure up to their deeply held values and goals. In time, they see the same thing in each other—a very passionate, individualistic, sometimes emotionally broken leader with fierce inner moral codes fighting against a universe that wants to control them.

Dominant Function: (Fi) Introverted Feeling, “The Deep Well”

To say that Major Kira Nerys is uncompromising in her values would be like saying Superman is kinda good at lifting heavy stuff. Kira leads with a strong inner moral compass, forged from her years fighting for the Resistance against the Cardassian Occupation of her homeworld. Everything she does, every choice, every step, is to fight for the cause of her people. She acts only on what she believes is right.

While Sisko goes through his emotional healing in the first episode, Kira’s takes the entire series. She’s broken and raw after a childhood spent fighting as a terrorist to free her people, and her only reaction to most situations is anger. She’s quite certain that the Bajoran government only assigned her to DS9 to get her off the planet and out of their hair.

DS9 MBTI: Major Kira, an Introduction

We almost didn’t get Major Kira on DS9. The original plan was to bring Ensign Ro, the popular recurring character from TNG, over to the new show. She was a strong female character whose backstory helped set the stage for DS9, so it was a natural fit.

But actress Michelle Forbes didn’t want to be tied to a regular TV gig, so she politely bowed out. The character was quickly rewritten, this time as a non-Starfleet officer who had even more freedom than Ro to break the rules and pick fights with her commanding officer. Along came Nana Visitor to fill her boots, and I’ve often thought that the one-two punch of Ro and Kira established the Bajorans as a society where women tend to take the lead.

With Kira, we watched possibly the best-written female character in all of Star Trek develop over the course of seven engrossing years. I’d even venture to say she’s one of the best-written characters in all of Star Trek. When I think of good character arcs, I think of Kira.

Check out these episodes and see if you agree:

ISFP: Clayface, “Batman: The Animated Series”

ISFP – the Composer, the Seeker, the Virtuoso

(aka: Matt Hagen)

I really dug Clayface as a kid simply because of the fantastic possibilities that being a shape-shifter offered (this was also around the time of Terminator 2 and Deep Space Nine, which both offered similar gooey shape-changers). He’s probably the villain I’d have the most fun being because of those powers, and certainly the one I imagined myself as the most often, but unfortunately, he’s a really sad guy. Maybe one of Batman’s most tragic tales—a man who loses himself and literally goes to pieces.

I have to credit the writer at The Animated Batman for his insight into the psychology of Clayface that informed my thoughts as I wrote this profile.

Dominant Function: (Fi) Introverted Feeling, “The Deep Well”

Anything bad you’ve ever wanted to say about us Fi-doms you can say about Matt Hagen—self-absorbed, vain, selfish, and run by the whim of his damaged emotions.

From the start, he’s lost in own grief and anger over being disfigured in a car accident. Even after he latches on to a miracle cure in order to continue his acting career, he continues to fume bitterly over what he’s lost, unable to get over it. He just wants to be left alone to stew in his own emotional cesspool.

He denies any attempt to comfort or help him, abusing those who care about him while feeding on their patience and generosity—from his buddy Teddy, to his girlfriend Stella, even Batman.

He once had an identity as a handsome movie star, but after he loses that, Clayface doesn’t know who he is. “I’m not an actor anymore! I’m not even a man,” he says. He rages at Stella for watching his old movies because he doesn’t want to reminded of who he used to be.

ISFP: Violet Parr, “The Incredibles”

The Composer, The Seeker, The Virtuoso

Confession time. Violet’s one of the characters I put on my INFP poster, the one that first inspired me to start researching MBTI and studying character types. She was on a list on some website, and I took its word for it.

I know INFPs and ISFPs sound like they’d be similar, but there’s a lot of differences between us. It’s mostly the difference between Extraverted Sensing (Se) and Extraverted Intuition (Ne). Violet’s not so much a person who needs to open herself to life’s possibilities, but to her own capabilities. She spends most of her life hiding until she breaks out of her shell—or her force field, in this case—and trusts her powers.

Dominant Function, (Fi) Introverted Feeling: “Evaluate the Experience”

Violet wants to be true to herself, but she’s also scared of who she is. She uses her invisibility to hide from the world, and her force fields to protect herself (sure, the symbolism’s not subtle, but it works). She’d like to be normal like everyone else, but she knows that can never happen.

Violet’s sensitive to disharmony in her home, and isn’t easily fooled by her parents’ excuses that they’re “just having a discussion.” She’s also sensitive about her feelings, and wants to keep her crush on classmate Tony Rydinger to herself. When her obnoxious little brother pushes her buttons, she explodes on him.

Violet feels ashamed at her initial failure when they’re attacked in the plane. She stumbles over an apology to her mom, but when Helen assures her that she has more power than she knows, it awakens a tiny spark of confidence in her. Once she gains mastery over her powers and faces down a killer robot with her family, Violet decides she likes being special after all.

She’s still that girl who rolls her eyes at the idea of cheerleaders, but she’s okay with that now.

ISFP: Lego Batman, “The LEGO Movie”

The Composer, The Seeker, The Virtuoso

Batman is one of those characters who’s been portrayed in so many different movies, shows, games, and comics, that you could find at least a couple different types for him just by picking any random version. Most versions, though, are definitely Thinker types. He is the Dark Knight Detective, after all.

Lego Batman has a whole other thing going on. He’s not a crime fighter for one thing, and he lives in a completely different universe with his own personal goals in life. And he’s super dark, man.

I’m proud to introduce the first Feeler type Batman, an ISFP.

Dominant Function, (Fi) Introverted Feeling: “Evaluate the Experience”

Batman revels in being dark and brooding. It’s his defining feature, and he wants everyone to see him that way. He writes a death metal song that’s all about being a tortured artist who has all kinds of pain and deep, dark feelings (it’s featured in the end credits, the same song you hear blasting through his speakers in the Batmobile).

Batman’s emotionally independent, and focused on his own values and desires. Somehow he ended up in a relationship with this ESTP chick, but he doesn’t really seem to need her. Not as much as she needs him, anyway. He’s not much of a team player, always ready to strike out on his own rather than worry about everyone else’s problems.

ISFP: Groot, “Guardians of the Galaxy”

ISFP, the Composer, the Seeker, the Virtuoso

Like Gamora, Groot doesn’t give us a lot of insight into what’s going on inside his head. I bounced back-and-forth between ISFP and INFP until I finally settled on the former, and I could still be wrong. He’s my favorite character, so I don’t know if I wanted him to be an INFP just because I am (hi, I’m an INFP!), or if he’s my favorite character because he really is an INFP.

Kind of a chicken-and-the-egg thing. Or acorn-and-the-tree.

Anyway, I think the evidence points to him being a Sensor over an Intuitive, so let’s all be Groot for a moment, shall we?

Dominant Function: Introverted Feeling (Fi), “Evaluate the Experience”

Groot lives in his own happy, contented place. He’s very rarely bothered by any of the activity around him. He fights for his friends because they’re important to him, but most of the time, he’s doing his own thing, enjoying the world on his own terms.

Groot’s not very talkative, either. He has one phrase that he uses for every response, and only those who know him well understand what he means. It also speaks to his strong sense of individual identity that the only words he chooses to use are those that express who he is.

He can bust out the rage when it’s time to fight, but he’s also very tender towards others. He uses his powers to heal Drax after his fight with Ronan and to produce light to guide his friends through Ronan’s ship. In the end, Groot finds his friends important enough to sacrifice himself for.

Auxiliary Function: Extraverted Sensing (Se), “Experience the Experience”

Groot is quite literally a force of nature. He can be tender and fierce from one moment to the next. He’s adaptable and can change his form to suit the needs of the current situation, whether to fight his enemies or heal his friends. He goes with the moment, one day fighting Gamora and the next day fighting alongside her.

Groot enjoys small, delightful sensory experiences, whether it’s sticking his head in a fountain or giving a flower to a little girl—or being distracted by chewing on leaves growing out of his arm.

The Prince of Egypt Character Poster

Merry Christmas, everyone! Please enjoy this image of the characters and their types from The Prince of Egypt series. I’ll see you on the other side of the new year with a new series of characters.

ISFP: Moses, “The Prince of Egypt”

ISFP, The Composer, The Seeker, The Virtuoso

There seems to be a common knowledge among MBTI/pop-culture enthusiasts that the most popular heroic types are ISTP and INFP. You have your scrappy, action-hero everyman in the ISTPs—John McClane, Han Solo, every scruffy military video game protagonist—and your starry-eyed, moral idealist in the INFPs—Luke Skywalker, Daenerys Targarean.

However, as I’ve read through my favorite MBTI blog lately, I’m beginning to think that ISFPs might be the front runner for most popular heroic type. For one thing, a lot of heroes that have been typed as INFPs are actually ISFPs, Luke Skywalker being the best example. One famous–and super inaccurate–MBTI chart has Harry Potter as an ISTP, and another throws Arya Stark in that slot as well. Well, guess what? Both ISFPs. I’ve also seen Legolas typed as an ISFP before, and though I haven’t seen an cognitive analysis yet, I think that fits pretty well.

(Dany? Well, I don’t know anymore, but I’m thinking she’s not an Intuitive-based personality.)

What I’m saying is that the character of Moses as portrayed in The Prince of Egypt seems to be in good heroic company. The ISFP type just seems super handy as a hero—driven by a non-conforming sense of morality and idealism (Fi), and backed up by physical impulsiveness and dexterity (Se). Plus, once the tertiary function kicks in (Ni), it usually means they’re on their way to Discovering Their Destiny.

Let me show you how this plays out for Moses.

Dominant Function: Fi/Introverted Feeling, “Evaluate the Experience”

Moses begins the story not having to think much about what he does or why. He’s perfectly happy being a prince and riding around recklessly with his brother, playing pranks, and shirking his responsibilities. Once he’s hit with the revelation of his true heritage, Moses retreats inward and re-evaluates everything he knows.

His first song, “All I Ever Wanted,” dramatizes Moses‘ discovery of what’s truly important to him, and what’s truly authentic about himself. At the end of it, he sits by the water where his mother found him, and confronts her with the fact that everything she’s told him about himself is a lie. He meets his father under the painting of the slaughter of the Hebrew children, and his father’s flippant attitude towards the atrocity pierces his newly awakened conscience, his inner sense of ethics and morality.

After Moses flees Egypt, he crawls through the desert slowly stripping off the jewelry and luxurious clothing from his old life. He finds a new life with the nomadic Midianites, and we find him at one point waking up early, sitting on a rock overlooking his flock of sheep, and sighing in contentment. He’s re-defined himself and found a peaceful existence that feels right and rings true.

However, God finds him and gives him a new mission—to free the Hebrews.

Oz Month: Villains of Oz

Oz has been part of my life since my parents sat my twin sister and me in front of the TV one evening when we were…five? Six? Younger? to watch a movie about a girl who got caught up in a storm. Most kids I knew growing up were terrified of the Witch, but I remember curling up tensely waiting for that storm to strike. Was it scary? Would she be okay? Would I be okay watching it?

And of course I was. No storm was bad enough to blot out the color and wonder of the adventures one found over the rainbow. So to say I’ve enjoyed this month of digging into some of the most iconic characters in our culture—and my memory—doesn’t do it justice.

Some of these characters appear so briefly, it’s a wonder we remember them so well at all. But actors like Margaret Hamilton will not be ignored even if their characters exist for only 12 minutes or so of screen time. It feels like we know them inside and out, and yet—what if Miss Gulch was only having a bad day?

This is what makes it tricky to type fictional characters—they can come on very powerfully during their appearance, but we might be getting a narrow perspective on them. Nevertheless, here are my best guesses for some of the fabulous baddies we meet along Dorothy’s journeys.

Miss Gulch – ESTJ

Elmyra Gulch wants it all done her way, and done right now, classic signs of dominant Extraverted Thinking (Te-dom). As to whether she’s ESTJ or ENTJ, it all depends on what auxiliary function you think is supporting her Te-dom. Is she a calculating power-grabber (Introverted Intuition/Ni) or a stuffy control freak (Introverted Sensing/Si)? (And of course, the descriptions of both those functions are meant as the stereotypically unhealthy forms.)

There’s a tantalizing hint in Auntie Em’s dialogue that Miss Gulch “owns half the county” and may want “to run the rest of us,” which smacks of an ambitious ENTJ. Seeing how she’s got an obsession over a measly little dog, though, I lean towards ESTJ. A bigger-picture-minded ENTJ, even an unhealthy one, would probably not be so worked up over a few dead flowers. Miss Gulch sincerely believes her own claims that Toto threatens her safety—unhealthy Si-aux in paranoid mode.

Miss Gulch seems to me a particularly vicious ESTJ, standing in contrast to Auntie Em’s more balanced, caring ESTJ, demanding order and control over as many people as she can just so they’ll leave her garden alone.