Long post incoming but its 4ish and I’m up so want to do a little bit of random media analysis because I am bored.
Spoilers in the clip after Eliot’s speech but you can read this if you want free from them or stop after it. I’ll analyse the characters using the MBTI because I’m familiar with it even though its not cast iron psychological theory there is some grounding in Jungian theory at least for it to be worthy of considering as a system of personality, especially in a fiction, plus its fun so why not.
This is one of the best dialogues from Mr Robot, between the main protagonist Elliot (Either INTP / INTJ but I think a little bit more INTP) and White Rose the primary Antagonist ( INTJ ) and its an interesting stark contrast of both their worldviews and motivations. INTP’s are often known as the warmest machines because on the surface they are quite cold, analytical and hard to get to know and often extremely introverted but it hides deeper driving motivations which are fundamentally driven by a deep connection to humanism and love at the deepest level.
I am an INTP myself. With this skill for analyzing ideas and experimentation however comes a flip-side of mal-adaptation to society and at worst self doubt and even hatred of oneself / lack of confidence. This dialogue so accurately sums up that dichotemry, which I’m not unfamiliar with, albeit not to the same extreme.
Whiterose is a good example of a dark INTJ who is lost in their shadow functions. INTJ are very similar in temperament to the INTP and sometimes are referred to as ‘The coldest Human’ in contrast to the INTP the ‘Warmest Machine’. Many of my best friends are often INTJ because we have a similar way of seeing the world and modelling it almost like a huge machine but the reasons how and why are fundamentally different (Exploration (P) vs Judgement(J) ).
So for an INTJ an idea is only really useful is you can use it to change the world somehow with it and it is applicable, for an INTP it is more like exploring to reach fundamental truths about the world, even if it doesn’t have any effect on the world itself. Both types are hugely represented in historical scientists, philosophers and thinkers and they are essentially the main drivers of progress along with the Inventors and entrepreneurs (ENTP /ENTH) and the more ethical thinkers like ENFJ, ENFP and INFP etc In White Roses’s case of how her INTJ shadow has overtaken her cognitive bias (she is trans in a society that does not allow this in the open) and has developed her obsession to the point where she has taken the trait of ‘wanting to see theory change the world’ to a horrendous logical conclusion, with an extreme ‘The ends justify the means’ which destroys anyone in its path towards its goal.
I think that even in some ways you can also view this as Elliot confronting his own shadow in his monologue as the common INTP shadow is a inferiority / superiority complex when thinking of society and their place in it and with their feeling towards other people. They’re often maladjusted and outsiders because it allows them a more objective perception of it. But this is not easy to deal with emotionally. Its a very interesting difference to see represented in media and along with the rest of the show makes it compelling viewing worthy of re-watching many times.
Elliot’s Monologue
White Rose:“Hatred has been your anthem, not mine.
“Elliot:“You’re right. I hate people. I’m scared of them. I’ve been scared of them practically my whole life.People I loved…people I trusted… have done their absolute worst to me. And for a long time, that’s all I ever knew. So, yeah, I called my group fsociety,because you know what? Fuck society.Society deserves to be hatedfor everything you said they did and more Fuck every last one of them for what we’ve all been through. But then there are some people out there… And it doesn’t happen a lot.It’s rare. But they refuse to let you hate them.In fact, they care about you in spite of it. And the really special ones, they’re relentless at it. Doesn’t matter what you do to them. They take it and care about you anyway. They don’t abandon you, no matter how many reasons you give them. No matter how much you’re practically begging them to leave.And you wanna know why? Because they feel something for me that I can’t. They love me. And for all the pain I’ve been through, that heals me.Maybe not instantly.Maybe not even for a long time,but it heals.And, yeah, there are setbacks. We do fucked up things to each other. And we hurt each other,and it gets messy, but that’s just us, in any world you’re in.And, yeah, you’re right. We’re all told we don’t stand a chance,and yet we stand. We break, but we keep going,and that is not a flaw.That’s what makes us.So, no, I will not give up on this world. And if you can’t see why, then I speakfor everyone when I say,fuck you!”
