Zombies Ruin Everything

One of the more fun aspects of The Bride taking her revenge on her attempted murderers is part of the fun of most Tarantino movies; the cast of violent, misanthropic characters you meet along the way.

And while so often, all of his characters have an obsession with pop culture and “happen” to speak exactly like him, that doesn’t usually stop them from being entertaining. Kill Bill gave us a group of characters that didn’t seem to are nearly as much about movies and Madonna as much as they did swords, money and murder.

Here are the Bride’s former comrades.

MBTI: The Bride- ISFP
MBTI: Elle Drive- ESTP

Vernita Green (Copperhead)- ESTJ

While we’re not shown much of Vernita due to her early death in the sequence we’re shown Kiddo’s revenge spree, Vernita had a few major things to let us in on her personality. Much of her decision to start a “normal” life after a life of espionage and crime is a huge clue due to the fact that few types prefer “normalcy” and a nine-to-five schedule over SJs, and no one more so than I/ESTJs.

Her attempt to make Kiddo feel pity for her by holding up a picture of her daughter and asking to be spared would more likely be a product of inferior Fi, as Fe would have known Kiddo well enough to recognize that when someone comes into kill you, they’re probably going to want to finish the job. Fi, on the other hand (especially inferior) could possibly try to take the way out that might work on them- “Hey, we can relate! Do we really have to go through with all this killing business? What about our history?” Not a quote of course, but a summary.

“Such a betch, Beatrix!”

Vernita’s outlook on Kiddo also seems to geared toward the ESTJ way of hating someone, but being able to respect them on a professional level. ESTJs tend to have a respect for those they consider to be an authority, be it by chaing of command or to the more knowledgeable person but competence is a must for them. Vernita switches to hot and cold as is an ESTJ trademark a few times in her time on screen- from snapping at her daughter to go upstairs, fighting and then pleading, then to laughing and shooting.

O-Ren Ishii (Cottonmouth)- INTJ

Rising up from orphan to kingpin, there’s only so much evidence that needs to be given to the woman that just wouldn’t stop until she reached the top. It’s interesting to note that when the Bride finally comes face to face with her toward the end of Vol. I, instead of facing down her former partner, Ishii sends her entire gang after her instead.

INTJs generally don’t want to get their hands dirty, be it physically or metaphorically, they’re willing to do the work needed to complete a task but there’s a reason Keirsey named them the “Mastermind;” planning, strategizing and executing are the INTJs main methods of employment. And just because they can deal with a problem themselves, doesn’t mean they will. Part of their mindset when it comes to dealing with those around them could often be seen as one of arrogance due to their attitude that the task at hand isn’t worth it. Ishii certainly takes this approach to the Bride at first, but eventually has no choice but to handle things herself.

“What are you wearing, dog? I’m wearin’ a kimono.”

Also, take into consideration how she deals with a subordinate that personally offends her. While she retains a professional attitude before and after (relatively), like a true INTJ (specifically the fictional kind), Ishii deals with the problem so quickly and horrendously that any other arguments to the contrary are immediately put in the ground.

A strength and weakness of the INTJ is their “go-for-the-knees” arguing technique in which they believe the best way to win a dispute of any kind is to deliver powerhouse blows to their opponent in the most efficient, devastating way possible. This can have long-lasting effects on the way the INTJ is seen; sometimes for better, sometimes for worse.

Budd (Sidewinder)- ISTP

While the simple life of being trailer trash initially seemed to be Budd’s segue into being typed ISTJ, Budd himself is a bit more slippery and bit too lazy to be typed as such.

Being the only male member of the DVAS, Budd had a special place in the group as Bill’s brother and the only member to take down Beatrix. Sure, he used a shotgun but it still counts. ISTPs are known not only for their laziness later on in life, but their need for efficiency in whatever they do. Why would Budd want to brush up on whatever swordsman skills he may have when he could just load his gun and hang out in his rocking chair listening to music?

Budd’s line toward the Bride when Bill tells Budd she’s coming to kill him is an interesting one as well.

“That woman deserves her revenge. And we deserve to die. But then again, so does she.”

Just killin’ some ninjas.

It’s not that ISTPs aren’t poetic necessarily as much as it that they view the simplest way to be the best. Budd’s outlook on the situation isn’t a defensive one wherein he tries to act as though he doesn’t deserve to be killed for all the bad things he’s done…but he also knows that Beatrix has done some bad things herself- so if one of them is going to die, it might as well be her- and he might as well make some money off of it.

The only thing that doesn’t fit for Budd’s character as an ISTP is that he didn’t simply kill her when he easily could have- but the ISTP way of revenge can be cruel and unusal and Budd himself mentions that for “breaking [his] brother’s heart” that she’s going to pay.

Why, Elle, WHY?! Oh, nevermind, you’re about to give a very detailed description why.

This entry was posted on 09/02/2014 at 12:51 am and is filed under MBTI Artisans, MBTI Rationals, MBTI Stuff, MBTI Whatever with tags Budd, Deadly Viper Assassination Squad, Elle, estj, ESTP, intj, isfp, istp, kill bill, mbti in fiction, O-ren, the bride, Vernita. 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.