Zombies Ruin Everything

As far as certain characters go, I always see some as being the end-all, be-all. For ISTJs, Dredd is the poster boy. For INTJ, it’s nearly any hang-out-behind-the-curtains villain. And as far as ENTPs go, the Joker is the best version of the evil side.

Is being evil cool? About as cool as a serial killer (which is not cool). But most frequently, I’ll use the Joker as a solid ENTP example because he’s such an extreme version of the type that all others fall under his roof, allowing me to move on with my point.

But as the real world would have it, there are some that still argue and I wouldn’t have it any other way. And though I’ve done a post on the Joker and his type, here are some common arguments I come across that can be easily rested, also letting me bring up some bigger points in the process.

It seems the comic book version is pretty much spoken for? Hm, wonder why. Must be because it’s the Dark Knight version of the Joker that everyone is really in love with. Not the child-killing, cackling lunatic of the comics, cartoon, or even TIm Burton’s oh-so-wacky world, but the Heath Ledger portrayal. That one.

Not this one. Nobody wants to wear their own face for some reason, they’re just not jealous of that.

And I get it. He’s a great character who confuses the greatest detective in his universe and anybody who can have such a stranglehold on the craziest city in fiction has got to be somebody worth admiring to a point.

Buuut we’ve got to have our limits don’t we? And let’s remember that the Joker is a great character but a horrible person. So if you’re one of those people that likes to look up MBTI to say “Yeah, that’s so totally me” then just take a step back and examine your life.

Just, examine the whole thing.

Moving on.

The Joker is a character that’s Extraverted Intuition is the most apparent aspect to his personality. Everything he does, everything he claims not to plan, is all the work of “Ne” as the kids say. You’ve made it this far, you know what Ne is. It’s seeing the possibilities in everything. It’s seeing fifteen different ways things could go and having a vague idea of what to do in case you have to choose one or one of those possibilities becomes a reality.

So people say that the Joker couldn’t have planned for the events that happened in the film and it’s just a ridiculous movie. Well, sure, it’s a ridiculous movie with men in costumes and face paint but that’s part of why it’s so friggin’ good.

But couldn’t plan for what happened? Ehh…let’s examine a bit further.

Let’s be clear that strong Ne users aren’t good planners. Every strange thing that goes on in their head is often aching to get out into the real world and weird you out. But while ENFPs (Lead Ne users, don’tcha know) are fueled by what they feel is right, ENTPs (Those other Ne leaders, don’tcha know) have their weird ideas backed up by Ti (Introverted Thinking) which takes things apart to see what their really made of.

Hang on, I’m almost there…

So what we have is a person that doesn’t speak of how great it would be if everyone could just get along and see what’s inside of their head to know what true peace is like (I’m looking at you, ENFP); but a person that would rather make a doughnut machine that shoots doughnuts a football field away. Not to feed people who happen to be on a deserted island but to pummel soft-skinned Nancy-boys with delicious pastries and watch jelly explode into a thousand different directions.

Just use a gun? No. There’s no fun in that.

Not making sense yet? Hang on, we’ll get there.

Many cite the Joker’s hospital scene as the perfect example of why the Joker isn’t a Rational. Y’know, the scene- it was the greatest scene in the movie. Here’s the refresher.

In the scene, the Joker talks about not planning anything out. To quote him specifically-

Joker- When you and Rachel were abducted, I was sitting in Gordon’s cage. I didn’t rig those charges.

Dent- Your men. Your plan.

Joker- Do I really look like a guy with a plan?

I’m a bit surprised at how deeply people read into this. Such a simple line to give you an idea at how far the Joker is willing to go to jerk this guy around and many will take it so literally that the Joker has been filed away as a “Feeler” for “never planning anything.”

Aside from ENTPs taking pride in their ability to move forward without a set idea of what to do next, the notion that the attacks on Dent in his armed escort, followed by the kidnapping of Dent and the District Attorney Dawes to take them to two separate warehouses rigged to blow all while the Joker is being interrogated by the Dark Knight himself and Gotham’s finest…while simultaneously having a mindless thug allow a bomb to be inserted inside himself so the Joker could use it as a distraction to retrieve the man who knows where his employers’ money is…

WOO! Anybody else having fun yet?

If you don’t get the idea by now, stop reading because you’re refusing to get it- The Joker may not have a blue print of the ultimate master plan, but he’s got his contingencies. He’s got his ideas. So in a sense- yes, he plans.

But-but-but he said he doesn’t haven’t a plan! Damn guys, he’s being facetious. It was his fault Rachel is dead and Harvey is disfigured. End-o story-o. This isn’t reading into a certain interpretation of the character, it is the character. He messes with people and doesn’t plan on it ever ending. That’s why he does it.

“I’m a dog chasing cars. I wouldn’t know what to do with one if I caught it! You know, I just… *do* things”

“I had a vision, of a world without Batman. The mob ground out a little profit and the police tried to shut them down, one block at a time. And it was so… boring.”

“I think you and I are destined to do this forever.”

Sounds like a Perceiver to me.

The point here isn’t just to argue a fictional character’s type, I promise it’s not. The point is to say that, much like in the rest of reality, don’t dig too much. Don’t think to the point of hurting your head. Don’t read so deeply into something you want to be true that you refuse to see it any other way.

Here’s a quick rundown of the types that the Joker is closest to being (without actually being)-

1. ESTP
Why- Dominant Se users really do chase things like dogs chasing cars. And there auxiliary Ti has their immediate impulses lean toward something beneficial.
Why Not- They don’t have the vision ENTPs have, as their goals are more practical and concrete; making money namely or something understood by most people rather than to rip a new hole in the fabric of society. Here’s your example.

2. ENFP

Why- As an Ne user, the ideas that come to the Joker work very much on the same level as an ENTP, with their actions and thoughts seeming random or even crazy to others.
Why Not- The Joker is by no means a Feeler and breaks down ideas and society’s rules in a way that ENFPs don’t care to. A stressed out, mentally deranged (not insane) or unhealthy ENFP wouldn’t be likely to devise ingenious strategies but would actually break down. Remember- a Feeler is controlled by thoughts in stressful situations, they don’t become a dominant thinker.

3. ENTJ, ENFJ, Any kind of “NJ”

Why- The Joker has a way with words that always seems to work to his own tune, giving him the upper hand that “J” personalities always crave- control is their thing.
Why Not- Nothing about the Joker’s ideas lean toward a real end goal. Nothing he says is written in stone and control over himself is about the only thing he actually cares about. And ENFJ? A dominant Fe user? The Joker? C’mon.

We don’t need to be cynical, but skepticism is a good thing. Question yourself, learn to listen to others, especially in typology. Sticking to your own ideas and steadfast thinking can be just as bad as it can be good.

This entry was posted on 03/21/2014 at 3:44 am and is filed under MBTI Rationals, MBTI Stuff, MBTI Whatever with tags enfj, enfp, entj, entp, ESTP, mbti in fiction, NT, rational, the dark knight, the joker. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.