Pictures & Words of MBTI

Heroes & Villains will be taking the week off while I focus on another writing project, but I have several new character series in the pipeline that I’m very excited to share (“I am Groot,” anyone?).

Meanwhile, I wanted to give a long overdue shout-out to the sites where I get my images from.

For The Wizard of Oz and The Matrix, I used screencapped.net, which has tons of screencaps from both movies and TV shows.

For The Prince of Egypt and Return to Oz, I used disneyscreencaps.com (no, Prince of Egypt isn’t Disney, but the collection includes both Disney and non-Disney animated films, plus a selection of Disney live-action movies).

Both places, in my experience, have been safe and well-managed. The only thing you should be aware of is bandwidth–with all those images, any screencap site can take a long time to load, and sometimes crash if you have a weak connection. Also, never go somewhere that’s covered in flashing advertisements or offering free wallpaper, because that’s usually a sign they want to deliver a few extra things along with your image download. Most good screencap sites are made by fans for fans, so that we can have fun creating memes, reactions pics, and blog illustrations for our favorite movies and shows.

It’s been a boon to my MBTI blogging to have options beyond a Google Image Search to find just the right pose and expression to illustrate each character’s profile.

See you next week, everyone!

Oz Month: Heroes of Oz

As I wind down this Oz series, I’m taking a moment to look at a few characters who don’t quite get enough screen time to make a whole profile. I looked at the Villains last time, and in this post, I visit with the Heroes. I’ll finish up with another look at the girl herself, Dorothy Gale, this time played by Fairuza Balk in Return to Oz.

Ozma – INFJ

She only appears for a minute or two in Return to Oz, so we don’t have much to work with for Ozma on screen. Of course, she’s a major character in the books—rightful ruler of Oz and best friend to Dorothy. Since I don’t want to draw too much from material outside of the movie, though, I’ll just offer a quick, speculative take on Ozma’s personality type.

The Queen of Oz is kind, fair, and compassionate to all her subjects, who love her unquestioningly, so I see Extraverted Feeling (Fe) right away there. She also seems a bit reserved—not detached, just quiet and dignified—so I’d put that Fe in the auxiliary position and pick an Introverted function as her dominant. I’m going for Introverted Intuition (Ni). She’s knowledgeable and creative with her magic, has good hunches about people, and sees potential in everyone whether they’re human, animal, or wooden creature brought to life.

There’s a scene in one of the books (can’t recall which one), where she correctly guesses Dorothy’s thoughts and addresses them. Dorothy sees the ease at which Ozma creates a tent and a meal for them on their journey and thinks that the world would be a better place if everyone could do that. Ozma instead points out the negative consequences if everybody could wield such power thoughtlessly, not the least of which would be that they would not be able to solve their own problems.

That sounds like Ni foresight, and also Introverted Thinking (Ti) logic at work. In the movie we see a touch of this in Ozma’s compassionate treatment of Mombi. Although the witch had imprisoned her, Ozma pardons her at the end of the story, since her magic has been taken away from her and she is now “a miserable creature indeed.” Her Fe seems to step in to support that decision as well, considering Mombi’s feelings even though Ozma herself was wronged by her.

Her inferior Extraverted Sensing seems to manifest in the magnificence of her palace and kingdom. Ozma appreciates these things without being overwhelmed by or obsessed with them. She dresses fancy, but only as a function of her position, not out of a strong love of luxury. She also abhors physical violence and seeks a peaceful solution to all her conflicts.

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.

ISTJ: Billina, “Return to Oz”

The Inspector

She’s not warm and fuzzy like Toto, but Billina the hen plays a similar role as he did, acting as Dorothy’s tie back to her home in Kansas. She also enjoys the distinction of being able to talk (one wonders what held Toto back). And although Billina doesn’t end up returning with Dorothy, her running commentary provides a sensible outsider’s perspective on the weird and wonderful land of Oz.

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

Billina’s not terribly impressed with Oz. The first glimpse she gets of it is the Deadly Desert, which would creep anyone out. After seeing the wrecked Yellow Brick Road and the petrified Emerald City, she doesn’t understand Dorothy’s enthusiasm for the place.

“Why don’t we just fly back to Kansas?” she sighs, after they escape on the flying Gump. She wants to return home, but not for the sentimental reasons that Dorothy had in the first movie. It’s just safer and more predictable there. For instance, there’s not an entire race of evil Nomes in Kansas who want to destroy her just for being a chicken.

However, by the end of the movie, Billina decides to stay in Oz. As a talking animal, she now has free agency to live her own life. And of course, no one’s going to stew her up for supper if she can’t lay an egg. It’s her best and most sensible option.

ISFJ: Jack Pumpkinhead, “Return to Oz”

The Protector

Brian Henson, son of the famous Jim, got his first big puppeteering gig as Jack Pumpkinhead. Not to be confused with another lanky Halloween-inspired Jack, he’s that strange combination of a sweet nature mixed with what could be seen as a scary face, staying true to the charming weirdness that is this version of Oz. And though he’s a young creature, discovered much like the Scarecrow having not had much life experience yet, Jack proves to be a pretty healthy, developed personality.

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

Jack doesn’t have much of a past to draw from—he’s only been alive a few years at most, and he’s spent those years locked away alone in a castle tower—but he’s completely devoted to his Mom, the girl who constructed him. His greatest wish is to find her, and when he first meets Dorothy, he perks up with hope that she’s the one. His Mom’s identity and fate turns out to be one of the story’s key mysteries.

Jack also has a highly detailed memory, on display when he recounts the story of how he came to life. He recalls that when Princess Mombi trapped him in the tower, she was wearing Head #22, and must not have worn it since, because she’s forgotten about him. His knowledge of the Powder of Life comes in handy when Dorothy needs to figure out a way to escape, and he remembers all about the Ruby Key and what Dorothy will need to do to get at it. He’s also sensibly concerned with making sure that his head hasn’t spoiled, and asks Dorothy to check it for him.

Like many Si-doms, once Jack finds himself part of a group, he connects with them as his own people and acts to preserve and protect them. When the group makes it to the Nome King’s Mountain, Billina hides away in Jack’s head. It’s never addressed directly in the dialogue, but it seems that Jack and the others all wordlessly agree to keep Billina safe, since the King has a thing against chickens.

As one does.

Auxiliary Function – Extraverted Feeling/Fe, “What We Need”

Jack attaches himself to Dorothy right away. He knows instinctively that she can be trusted. He follows her dutifully and depends on her for approval. “May I call you Mom, even if it isn’t so?” he begs of her. She nods yes, and he gasps with happiness.

Later, when Jack is about to take his turn in the Nome King’s guessing game to save the Scarecrow, he grows sad. But he isn’t sad for himself. He understands that if he gets turned into an ornament, he won’t be missing much. It’s Dorothy he’s worried about, because as a being who is actually alive, she’ll miss getting to eat and sleep, “and other such activities.” Jack’s feelings are directed toward his travelling companions and their needs, not so much his own.

INTJ: Tik-Tok, “Return to Oz”

The Mastermind, The Strategist, The Futurist

My twin sister and I were not allowed to see Return to Oz when it debuted in 1985. Reports were it was way too scary for kids. Not that the Wicked Witch of the West and her flying monkeys didn’t inspire a few nightmares in their day, but Return to Oz tapped into some of the darker reserves of L. Frank Baum’s imagination.

Jim Henson and his crew were really a perfect match for this style of Oz. When we’d last paid a visit in the 1939 MGM version, Oz was more glitzy and glamorous. Now we saw headless witches, screaming Wheelers, grasping gnomes, a creepy mental asylum, a deadly desert, and a bad guy death scene that makes the Wicked Witch of the West’s passing look like a gentle, compassionate affair.

Needless to say, when I finally saw it, I was hooked, and I became one of those 80s kids that makes up the cult following of Return to Oz.

In the middle of all this fantastical scariness, however, stands one bright and brave figure. Calm, collected, and always thinking—at least when he’s wound up—Tik-Tok marches into the scene to save the day, joining Dorothy as her first new companion in this round of her journey. According to his Wikipedia entry, Tik-Tok is “widely considered to be one of the first robots…to appear in modern literature, though that term was coined after Baum’s death.”

So not only is Tik-Tok a great robot character, he’s also one of those rare INTJ heroes in fiction. And his wind-up mechanisms make great metaphors for the cognitive functions of the Mastermind. Let’s take a look and see what makes him tick.

Dominant Function—Introverted Intuition/Ni, “What Will Become”

When Dorothy finds Tik-Tok, the first thing she winds up is his Thinking. It’s a sensible decision, since he won’t be able to do anything with his Speaking and Action if he can’t think first. It also reflects the way all Introverts start with their dominant function—be it Sensing, Intuition, Thinking, or Feeling—before they interact with the rest of the world (hi, I’m an INFP!).

In this story, the mechanism is called Thinking, but I believe it’s best described as Intuition in this case. Tik-Tok isn’t designed so much to offer careful analysis of a situation as he is to strategize. He’s called “The Army of Oz.” And as the only member of that Army, he has to figure out what to do for himself.

Dorothy winds him up, and he immediately sizes up the situation. He takes Dorothy’s lunch pail and uses it as a weapon against the Wheelers. Later, Tik-Tok easily grasps Dorothy’s inventive plan to build a flying creature to escape Princess Mombi. When Jack Pumpkinhead asks him if he understands it, he says, “I understand it better than you.”

Near the end of the movie, Tik-Tok comes up with a clever strategy to help them beat the Gnome King. They’re tasked with entering a room full of knick-knacks and trying to guess which one is the lost Scarecrow. If they fail, they turn into an ornament themselves. One by one, Dorothy’s friends enter the room and are transformed. Tik-Tok, however, pretends to wind down so that Dorothy will have to enter the room to wind him up. As she pretends to do so, he tells her that if he guesses incorrectly, she’ll be able to see what kind of knick-knack he’s turned into, and from there figure out how to find the Scarecrow.

Not a bad plan, although the Gnome King cheats and ruins it. But still, that’s Introverted Intuition at work. Tik-Tok dismisses the rules of the Gnome King’s game, and re-works them in his favor.

ENFJ: Glinda, “The Wizard of Oz”

The Giver

In stage versions of The Wizard of Oz, it’s traditional for the actress who plays Auntie Em to also play Glinda, just like the farmhands and Miss Gulch show up as their imaginary counterparts in Oz. Auntie Em and Glinda, though, contrast much more than the other real-world/dream-world pairs. Both act as strong female mentors to Dorothy, but while Auntie Em leads with her stern, no-nonsense Te-dom (Extraverted Thinking), Glinda gives Dorothy the emotional affirmation she needs as a fellow Fe-dom (Extraverted Feeling).

It seems like a bit of subconscious wish-fulfillment on Dorothy’s part to have a nicer, sweeter mother figure to guide her.

Dominant Function – Extraverted Feeling/Fe, “What We Need”

It’s not clear what exactly Glinda’s relationship to the Munchkins is, but they certainly look to her for a kind of emotional leadership. They hide away until she gives the okay on Dorothy, and then they emerge to the encouraging sound of her voice. The movie’s biggest musical sequence gets started then, and Glinda watches with increasing pleasure as the Munchkins express their joy. Their happiness becomes her happiness.

Glinda states that “only bad witches are ugly,” showing confidence that a good person’s inner being will reflect in the way they present themselves to the outside world (it also sounds a bit insulting when you remember that she had to ask Dorothy if she was a good witch or a bad witch). When Glinda appears at the end of the movie, she pulls the focus of everyone in the Emerald City. Even Scarecrow, who’s never met her before, is certain that she’s someone who can help. Her presence sets a peaceful, comforting mood wherever she shows up.

Dorothy, who’s working from a damaged Fe-dom that’s stinging from not getting acceptance and understanding from her family, probably learns a lot about being confident in her feelings from Glinda.

INTP: Wicked Witch of the West, “The Wizard of Oz”

The Architect

One of the most exciting things I discovered while typing the Witch is that she’s the exact opposite of Dorothy. Her letters—INTP—contrast with Dorothy’s—ESFJ—and both women share the same four cognitive functions, but in reverse order. I think it makes a fascinating metaphor for Dorothy dealing with the most mysterious, and thus frightening, parts of herself.

Not that INTPs are frightening, of course. It all depends on your perspective, and this story is told from Dorothy’s perspective. Other certain re-tellings of the story that will go unnamed probably use an INTJ version of the Witch. However, I think the INTP is appropriate here, because this type is most often used in movies as a classic mad scientist type—Dr. Frankenstein, Walter Bishop, that duck-billed thing in The Nightmare Before Christmas—and the Wicked Witch of the West is basically a magical version of the mad scientist.

Dominant Function – Introverted Thinking/Ti, “Why It Is”

Whereas Dorothy leads with her Extraverted Feeling function, addressing everyone with kind consideration and politeness, the Witch is always blunt and to the point. She has no time for messing around. Her focus remains intently on the Ruby Slippers, and she will have them.

We don’t get to see her analytical powers in action much, but when she’s exhausted all her options in trying to get the shoes off of Dorothy, the Witch thinks carefully. “These things must be done delicately,” she says, “or you hurt the spell.” She’ll figure it out eventually. She enjoys being smart and clever and gloats over cornering Dorothy and her friends in the castle: “Ring around the rosie, a pocket full of spears…thought you were pretty foxy, didn’t you?”

She never tells Dorothy exactly what she’s thinking, though—partly because she’s an Introverted Thinker and tends to keep her thoughts to herself; but also, I suspect, because this is the function Dorothy least understands, so her dreaming mind doesn’t play it out for her.

ENTP: The Wizard, “The Wizard of Oz”

The Champion

There are two ways we can look at the characters in the land of Oz: one, as fully realized persons in their own right; and two, as personifications of the different parts of Dorothy’s personality. It really depends on whether you go with it all being a dream, or if you prefer to believe it was real. Of course, some people do go both ways.

The Wizard of Oz himself is at once an interesting, complicated character with his own backstory, and also a metaphor for Dorothy’s wild imagination and indecision. Let’s take a look.

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

A mark of a strong Ne user (hi, I’m an INFP!) is the ability to BS our way through new and unfamiliar situations. The Wizard is a master at this. As he tells it, he crash-landed in Oz and was promptly named the Wizard everyone was waiting for (I’m not gonna reference the 2013 James Franco movie here, so you can just forget about that).

“Times being what they were,” the Wizard tells Dorothy and her friends, “I accepted the job.” He clearly had no options or resources, so the Wizard jumped on the new opportunity and went with it. And when we finally meet him in the flesh, he’s been going with it for a very long time, pulling the wool over the eyes of everyone in the Emerald City and in Oz with elaborate, creative deceptions.

Unfortunately, he’s been using his creativity out of fear and selfishness. He clearly has no intention of helping Dorothy and her friends—because he can’t—so he makes up a bunch of excuses and sends them on a dangerous quest to kill the Wicked Witch. Dorothy, at the start of the movie, is also caught up in her own Ne, although it’s lower down in her cognitive function stack. So it’s not her strength, and I think the Wizard’s reckless use of his own Ne-dom reflects the way that Dorothy’s ungrounded desires have led her astray.

It isn’t until Toto unmasks him that the Wizard is forced to use his quick wits to directly help others. Even then, the Wizard is kind of BS-ing it as he pulls tricks from his bag, but this time he’s making helpful connections between what Dorothy and her friends need, and creating meaning from symbols to give them confidence. He’s still kind of conning them, but for a good cause.

ISTP: Uncle Henry, “The Wizard of Oz”

The Operator

Auntie Em is clearly the decision-maker in the Gale family, but Uncle Henry is also surprisingly sharp, not to mention loveable. We only have a few minutes of screen time to work with, but I feel pretty safe typing him as an ISTP, known as the Operator. Here’s why.

Dominant Function – Introverted Thinking/Ti, “Why It Is”

In one of the funniest scenes in the movie, Uncle Henry engages in cheeky wordplay with the grumpy Miss Gulch, deconstructing her words to create nonsense, and infuriating the woman. This verbal smart-assery is a classic sign of an ISTP in the movies. Both John McClane from Die Hard and Han Solo from Star Wars can’t seem to interact with other characters without a blunt yet catchy quip.

Aside from that, Uncle Henry tends to keep his thoughts to himself, deferring instead to Auntie Em’s Extraverted Thinking. “Of course we won’t,” he tells Dorothy when she asks if they’ll let Miss Gulch take Toto. “Will we, Em?”

In a moment of crisis, though, Uncle Henry makes logical, clear-headed decisions. When the cyclone hits and Dorothy is nowhere to be found, Auntie Em runs around looking for her. Uncle Henry intervenes and pulls Em to safety in the cellar, making the hard choice between losing both of the women in his family versus losing only one.

Auxiliary Function – Extraverted Sensing/Se, “What Is”

Uncle Henry actively wrestles with Miss Gulch to keep her from mishandling Toto when she makes a grab for him. He doesn’t seem to like the high emotion of the moment (his Ti-dom), so he physically steps in to smooth things over. Even though he knows what Miss Gulch is doing is wrong, he’d probably rather keep Toto from getting hurt than see the situation escalate.

Though we don’t get to see him at work much, we do know that Uncle Henry is a farmer who lives off the land. We catch him painting a fence when Miss Gulch arrives, but I’m sure he’s quite handy at all the chores he has to do. I definitely see him as a “salt of the earth” type, filtering the physical awareness of his Extraverted Sensing through his Introverted Thinking to efficiently do all the work that running a farm requires.

Tertiary Function – Introverted Intuition/Ni, “What Will Become”

Deconstructing Miss Gulch’s words is an Introverted Thinking function, while putting them back together to create silly new meanings is an Intuitive thing. This deconstruction-reconstruction cycle is probably what gives ISTPs the nicknames “Mechanic,” “Operator,” and “Craftsman.” If you replace words with tools or physical materials by way of Uncle Henry’s Extraverted Sensing function, you can totally see him being a handy inventor or tinkerer.

Uncle Henry’s Ni may also inform his logical, Ti-dom decision to not look for Dorothy when the cyclone hits. He foresees the consequences of trying to search for her in the storm, and decides that saving Auntie Em alone is the best option—out of mostly bad options, of course.

Inferior Function – Extraverted Feeling/Fe, “What We Need”

Uncle Henry responds tenderly to Dorothy’s pleas once Miss Gulch shows up, and he’s not afraid to show his amusement when his wife gives the horrible woman a verbal slapping. We only see a few minutes’ worth of Mr. and Mrs. Gale, but both Auntie Em and Uncle Henry seem to be well-rounded examples of their types. They’re driven mainly by Thinking and Sensing functions, making them sensible, practical, and hard-working folk, while their Feeling and Intuitive functions keep them sensitive and caring, even if they don’t at first understand Dorothy’s crisis. It’s no wonder that Dorothy realizes very quickly that she would rather return home to them than run away.

Next, we’ll cross back to the other side of the rainbow and meet the more colorful authority figures in Dorothy’s adventure, good and bad, starting with the Wizard himself, an ENFP.