ESTJ: Agent Smith, “The Matrix”

ESTJ, the Supervisor, the Achiever, the Director

The Wachowskis call Hugo Weaving their “dark muse.” If you love him here as the droll and vicious Agent Smith, you have to watch him play not one, not two, but six despicable villains in the Wachowskis’ most recent film, Cloud Atlas.

Dominant Function: Te/Extraverted Thinking, “Organize the Experience”

Agent Smith leads the three agents who are looking for Neo (the other two being Brown and Jones), and he won’t stop until the job is done. When the cops corner Trinity at the start of the movie, Smith shows up and immediately takes charge of the situation. “Your men are already dead,” he informs the lieutenant bluntly.

Smith remains cool and in control even when interrogating an obstinate Neo. He repeatedly refers to Neo by his given name, “Thomas Anderson,” trying to force Neo into accepting the Matrix’s version of himself. He tells Neo that one of his selves has a future, and one does not. Smith is determined to shape Neo’s life according to his—and the Matrix’s—will.

Smith also seems to like to hear himself talk. He voices his thoughts and opinions in long soliloquies like the one he delivers to Morpheus during the interrogation. He believes he has humanity figured out and classified, and sees all the humans living in the Matrix as a chaotic zoo in need of order.

Auxiliary Function: Si/Introverted Sensing, “Relive the Experience”

Agent Smith exists solely to maintain the order and function of the Matrix. Anything, or anyone, that falls outside that order must be put back into place. When he makes his speech to Morpheus, he compares humans to other life forms he’s known of, slyly making the observation that he believes we act more like viruses than mammals. He also compares us to the dinosaur, a being whose time has come and gone. It’s on these comparisons that he bases his superiority complex over Morpheus and other humans.

ESFJ: Miriam, “The Prince of Egypt”

ESFJ, The Provider, The Harmonizer, The Caretaker

It’s been my impression that when we type fictional characters, we’re often quick to see any kind of spirituality as evidence of one of the Intuitive functions. It’s as if someone with strong Sensing, grounded in the physical world, is either too practical for such thoughts or isn’t capable of seeing beyond their everyday existence. The only exception seems to be if they’re clinging to old religious rules, like an Introverted Sensor (Si) or an Extraverted Thinker (Te).

Miriam’s arguably one of the most spiritual characters in The Prince of Egypt. It’s her faithfulness that buoys everyone around her and carries them through hard times into their deliverance. Because of the spirituality=intuition prejudice, I almost typed her as an ENFJ at first. Upon reflection, though, I think her faith comes not in the form of seeing a future no one else can see, but in trusting in what she was told in the past, even if it takes many years for it to happen.

Dominant Function: Fe/Extraverted Feeling, “Relate To the Experience”

Miriam faces her terrible existence with steady optimism and hope, which tends to catch on with those around her. She’s an emotional rallying point for her people, and lifts Moses’ spirits when he’s low. Even as a little girl, she shows care and concern for her little brother by following his basket and making sure it ends up someplace safe.

When Moses makes his fateful move to protect a Hebrew slave from his Egyptian taskmaster, it’s because Miriam sees the abuse happening first and cries out for someone to stop it. She isn’t afraid of the danger she puts herself in for speaking up. Her sense of empathy and justice for others demands that she confront the situation on behalf of her fellow slave.

Even when a stranger comes to her in the middle of the night—Zipporah, beating a hasty escape from the palace—Miriam is happy to help her on her way.

Miriam’s Extraverted Feeling is crucial for making the emotional transition from the end of the plagues to the Hebrews’ triumphant march out of Egypt. You can listen to the commentary for the film and hear how difficult a tone it was for the filmmakers to strike, finding joy after such a dark experience. It wouldn’t have worked without the character of Miriam.

When we call the Feeling functions “Judging” functions, then, it isn’t because the person is being judgmental in the common meaning of the word.

ESTJ: Auntie Em, “The Wizard of Oz”

The Supervisor

Oz Month is back, and we begin again by looking at the folks from Dorothy’s “real world,” that star called Kansas.

Dominant Function – Extraverted Thinking/Te, “How To Do It”

Auntie Em is without a doubt in charge of the family farm. She’s constantly in motion, and constantly making sure others are, too. She wastes no time rescuing the baby chicks from the broken incubator, and prods the farmhands into action. She’s not easily fooled by their excuses, but she also feeds them to make sure they’re not working on an empty stomach. She’s sensible and straightforward and thinks Dorothy is worrying over nothing—at least until Miss Gulch shows up with a sheriff’s order for Toto.

It’s then that she takes offense at a horrible woman like Miss Gulch trying to tell her family what to do. “Just because you own half the county doesn’t mean you can run the rest of us!” she says. It’s quite a showdown between the two women, cut short only by Auntie Em’s Christian morals preventing her from saying what’s really on her mind.

Auxiliary Function – Introverted Sensing/Si, “What Was”

Those Christian morals are part of the traditional standards that Auntie Em follows in life. They probably give her a desire to be a decent, honest, hard-working woman. They also prevent her dominant Extraverted Thinking function from coming out and saying what she truly thinks of Elmyra Gulch–but they also tell her that the woman is no good.

Even though we don’t see much of Auntie Em’s life outside of her scenes with Dorothy, I imagine she’s a very traditional woman who believes in good, old-fashioned—yet timeless—values. She certainly shows loyalty to her family, taking in a girl who isn’t hers and caring for her like she were her own daughter. Dorothy tells Professor Marvel that when she was little and had the measles, Auntie Em never left her side, even for a moment.

Tertiary Function – Extraverted Intuition/Ne, “What Could Be”

Auntie Em has clearly played out her confrontation with Miss Gulch in her head for a long time: “For 23 years I’ve been dying to tell you what I thought of you…” and I’m disappointed every time I watch the movie that we don’t get to hear whatever brilliantly scathing put-down she had ready.

Inferior Function – Introverted Feeling/Fi, “What Is Important”

Auntie Em is a tough cookie that doesn’t readily show her emotions, but it’s clear that she knows who and what is important to her. She resists being dragged into the storm cellar because she wants to find Dorothy. Although she doesn’t understand at first that Toto is in real danger, she cares for the dog just as much as Dorothy does. “He’s really gentle, you know,” she says to Miss Gulch, “with gentle people, that is.” She’s not an unfeeling woman, but most of the time she has to be stern and focused to get her work done and to take care of her farm and family.

Tomorrow we’ll meet the other member of the Gale family, trusty old Uncle Henry, an ISTP.