Character/actor archetypes and Enneagram fun! by Lexan

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Character/actor archetypes and Enneagram fun!

POSTED BY: LEXAN
UPDATED: Thursday, July 16, 2009 04:46
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Saturday, July 11, 2009 10:11 PM

Hey all

Been a while since I posted here. Haven't taken a good look, but I've wanted to explore this for a while now.

Back when I posted here more, I actually did post a thread about the Enneagram. However, I now have more knowledge of the Enneagram, and therefore my insights into the characters are more likely to reflect accurately in my typings.

A little background on the Enneagram:

http://www.enneagraminstitute.com/

1 - The Perfectionist
2 - The Giver
3 - The Achiever
4 - The Individualist
5 - The Investigator
6 - The Loyalist
7 - The Enthusiast
8 - The Challenger
9 - The Peacemaker

The nine types can be divided into three triads:
The heart/image/relational triad: 2, 3 and 4 (shame/grief)
The head/thinking triad: 5, 6 and 7 (anxiety/fear)
The gut/instinctive triad: 8, 9 and 1 (anger/rage)

There's also the instinctual variants/subtypes, which are very, very interesting..and could probably be brought up when it comes to certain characters, but I won't do so in this post.

Furthermore, it must be noted that, even though one can only have one main type/motivation, one can also lean toward one of the types next to theirs. This is called the 'wing'. For example, a 1 with a 2 wing is called 'The Advocate', while a 1 with a 9 wing is called 'The Idealist'. Be warned, don't go only by the titles, especially when typing yourself.

Though I have made an attempt to type the characters based on their behaviours in the TV series and movie, I must say that I am generally not inclined to type fictional characters. In a way, it undermines the purpose of the Enneagram as a real insightful tool into the human personality. I think the Enneagram is an extraordinary means of understanding ourselves and, to a lesser extent, those in our lives. That's why fictional characters rarely manage to consistently exemplify an Enneagram type.

Mal - 8w9 'The Bear'
Zoe - 9w8 - 'The Referee'
Wash - 6w7 'The Buddy', or perhaps 7w6 'The Entertainer'
Simon - 1w9 'The Idealist'
River - 5w4 'The Iconoclast'
Kaylee - 2w3 'The Host'
Inara - 4w3 - 'The Aristocrat'
Book - 9w8 - 'The Referee'
Jayne - 8w7 - 'The Maverick'

and their actor counterparts:

Nathan Fillion - 2w3 'The Host', or 3w2 'The Charmer' (or he could even be a 7, but I get a heart-oriented feeling from him).
Gina Torres - Interesting, I think she is an 8 or a 9
Alan Tudyk - Hmmmm
Sean Maher - Hmmmmm
Summer Glau - 9w1 'The Dreamer' (quite certain of this)
Jewel Staite - 2w3 (probably)
Morena Baccarin - Probably 9...
Ron Glass - Seems like a raging 7 to me...
Adam Baldwin - Hmmmm

Finally, the most interesting part of all, what is Joss' type????

I will say now that people have typed him as 4 and 6 before. I think he is 6w5 'The Defender', a title which definitely suits. However, I think there is room for argument there. So I thought it might relevant to bring up the 'misidentification' description on the E institute website:

http://www.enneagraminstitute.com/members/misid/4and6.asp

In bold, I have pointed out the bits which I think indicate that he is a 6

While there are real similarities between the two types, there are even more differences. The principal difference is that Sixes are usually extremely appealing and relate well to people; they have the ability to unconsciously engage the emotions of others so that others will like them and form secure relationships with them. Fours, in contrast, do not relate primarily to people but to their own inner emotional states. Fours take it for granted that they are alone in life, and find it difficult to form bonds with others—something that comes easily to Sixes. The psychic structures of the two types are also very different: Fours are true introverts, while Sixes are a blend of introversion and extroversion—true ambiverts who possess qualities of both orientations.

Confusion arises between these types principally on the part of Sixes who think that they are Fours for two main reasons. First, some Sixes identify with the negative side of the Four (depression, inferiority, self-doubt, and hopelessness, for example) and think they must be Fours because they recognize similar traits in themselves. The difference lies in the motivations for these traits. For example, while all the types can become depressed, Fours do so because they are disappointed with themselves for having lost some opportunity to actualize themselves. They become depressed when they realize that in their search for self, they have gone down a blind alley and now must pay the price. Unhealthy, depressed Fours are essentially angry with themselves for bringing this on themselves or for allowing it to happen.

By contrast, Sixes become depressed when they fear that they have done something to make their authority figure mad at them. Their depression is a response to their self-disparagement; it comes from the fear that the authority is angry with them and will punish them. Thus, the depression of Sixes is exogenous (coming from the outside) and can be relieved by a word of reassurance from the authority. This is not the case with Fours whose depression is endogenous (coming from the inside), a response to their self-accusations.

Second, we have characterized the Four as The Individualist , and some Sixes who are artistic think that they therefore must be Fours. However, as noted above in the discussion of Fours and Nines, artistic talent is not the sole domain of Fours, so it is entirely possible for Sixes to be artists of one kind or another. Even so, there are important differences in the creative work produced by these two types.

In general, Sixes tend to be performing artists, while Fours tend to be original creators. Sixes are more likely to be actors or musicians than poets and playwrights, more likely to perform the words or music of someone else than to create it themselves. Even those Sixes who are creative tend either to be traditionalists, creating within firmly established rules and styles, or they go to an extreme and become rebellious, reacting against traditionalism–such as rock stars and experimental novelists who purposely defy traditional forms. In either case, both tradition and reactions against it are an important aspect of their art. The themes typically found in the art of Sixes have to do with belonging, security, family, politics, country, and common values.

Creative Fours, by contrast, are individualists who go their own way to explore their feelings and other subjective personal states. The artistic products of Fours are much less involved either with following a tradition or with reacting against it. Fours are less apt to use political or communal experiences as the subject matter for their work, choosing instead the movements of their own souls, their personal revelations, the darkness and light they discover in themselves as they become immersed in the creative process. By listening to their inner voices, even average Fours may speak to the universal person or fail to communicate to anyone, at least to their contemporaries. They may be ahead of their time not because they are trying to be rebellious or avant-garde, but because they develop their own forms to express their personal point of view. What is important to Fours is not the tradition but personal truth. Tradition is no more than a backdrop against which Fours play out their own personal dramas. Compare and contrast the personalities of Rudolf Nureyev and Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky (Fours) with those of Mikhail Baryshnikov and Johannes Brahms (Sixes) for further similarities and differences.

So, any comments?

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Sunday, July 12, 2009 8:51 AM

OUT2THEBLACK

Good , thoughtful post...

Thanks for coming back with this subject !

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Sunday, July 12, 2009 7:31 PM

LEXAN

Just to quote myself here...

Quote:
Originally posted by Lexan:

Mal - 8w9 'The Bear'
Zoe - 9w8 - 'The Referee'
Wash - 6w7 'The Buddy', or perhaps 7w6 'The Entertainer'
Simon - 1w9 'The Idealist'
River - 5w4 'The Iconoclast'
Kaylee - 2w3 'The Host'
Inara - 4w3 - 'The Aristocrat'
Book - 9w8 - 'The Referee'
Jayne - 8w7 - 'The Maverick'

Probably the typing of those which is most questionable is Zoe's. I think the Enneagram title that would probably suits her best would be 3w4: 'The Professional'. I see some 3 like behaviours in her, and it's also important to note that the three has a connection to 9. And really, is Zoe a peacemaker? The main reason I say this is because she just kind of 'does what she's supposed to'. Quite a good way to see a 3 is as a 9 with motivation. Zoe doesn't really have the 'softness' of 9, whereas she does have the 'get the job done' attitude of the 3. Also, Mal as an 8 doesn't quite resonate with me the way a true 8 would. I think he has a connection to two, and I can also see the stress point at five. By this logic, I type him as 8. Be good if I could get some feedback on all this though.

Thanks Out2TheBlack, do you think you know what your type is?

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Thursday, July 16, 2009 12:19 AM

LEXAN

C'MON people!! It's a gorram interesting subject!! I don't want to continue having this conversion/argument with myself...

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Thursday, July 16, 2009 4:46 AM

BYTEMITE

I don't really know what this is about, and I'm not sure where I'm looking for the explanations on the site linked... Perhaps the wikipedia entry will clarify?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enneagram_of_Personality

In any case, though I don't know the specifics of what you're talking about, I would agree that Zoe acts more like a professional than she does some sort of mediator. Also, I see Inara as more of a 9, her life is more about other people, helping other people, soothing them and calming them, and she becomes frustrated when she can't.

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