Myers-Briggs® at the Movies – Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
I’ve been counting down the months till Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them would come to theaters, and finally I got the chance to see it yesterday! I would have probably watched it two or three times in a row, but alas, I am a mother, and I needed to get home to my babies and be a responsible muggle human being. I’ve been thinking about the characters for a while now, and I thought it would be fun to type them, at least as much as I can from the information I have. Some of the characters I’m going to have to type somewhat hesitantly, as they weren’t given a lot of screen time and we have no literature to peruse for more details. Let’s get straight to the lead character… WARNING: This post contains spoilers! All pictures are the property of Warner Brothers.
Newton Scamander – INFP
Newton Scamander cares immensely for creatures that he feels are on the brink of extinction or that have been misunderstood. He also forms a close friendship with a muggle, which would have been looked down upon in the wizarding world of New York at the time. INFPs have dominant Introverted Feeling (Fi), which gives them a tendency to champion the underdogs and look out for people (or creatures) they see as vulnerable or down-on-their-luck. He doesn’t seem to care what the social norms are or what people “expect” of him, but deep inside he holds within him an intense set of emotions and inner values that he will not stray from. He is private and quiet, but he has a difficult time restraining his emotions when there is any risk to the creatures (and people) he wants to protect. Because his Feeling function is introverted, he’s wary to share what he truly feels with others, even the woman he eventually falls in love with.
We see Newton’s use of Extraverted Intuition in the way he sees possibilities and potential in situations and reacts accordingly. He has an adventurous streak, traveling all over the world to discover and learn all there is to know about creatures and how they can be protected and appreciated. Yet he has a certain offbeat, lovable, quirkiness that is common with Ne-users. He’s quick to come up with imaginative solutions to problems as they present themselves. He shows interest in creatures and their abilities that other members of the wizarding world have cast aside or shown no interest in. He thrives on being a pioneer in discovering more and more about creatures that, up unto that point, very little had been revealed.
We see Newton’s inferior Extraverted Thinking in the way he keeps his facts straight and can maintain a sense of logic and rationality when dealing with other people. Unlike a Te-dominant person, Newton seems to make decisions at the spur-of-the-moment rather than planning everything out meticulously. His creatures are constantly escaping and then his methods of capturing them back aren’t always very successful or well thought-out. However, he does know how to come up with a plan at the last minute if it’s absolutely essential.
Porpentina Goldstein – ISTJ
Tina is reserved in her communications with others; she trusts what she knows and understands, and relies on details and facts she’s come to trust through experience. This is characteristic of Introverted Sensing (Si) dominant people. She respects the rules, which is why she (somewhat reluctantly) feels she must arrest Newt Scamander, even if she has a certain amount of sympathy for his plight. She’s good at navigating the outer world, and she has a strong sense of responsibility, which is characteristic of ISTJs. She is practical and grounded in her outlook on life, as SJ types tend to be.
We see Tina’s auxiliary Extraverted Thinking (Te) in the way she makes decisions. She tries to remain as logical as possible, trusting the facts and taking charge when she feels it’s for the greater good. We also see Tina’s tertiary Introverted Feeling (Fi) in the way she grows and develops feelings for Newton Scamander but is very private about these feelings, in fact, most of her feelings are kept tightly under wraps during the entire movie. We also see her Feeling side in the way she fights to protect Credence, even if it means risking her own life.
We see Tina’s inferior Extraverted Intuition in the way she worries about what may happen with the release of the creatures in New York. She’s intrigued by Newt’s ideas and his creatures, but she prefers to deal with what she knows and trusts through experience (thanks to her dominant Sensing). However, eventually Tina is able to accept and broaden her views.
Queenie Goldstein – ENFJ
Queenie is full of heart and empathy for nearly everyone she meets. She wants to make everyone feel comfortable and at ease and understood, a strong characteristic of dominant Extraverted Feelers. Her combination of Extraverted Feeling (Fe) and Introverted Intuition (Ni) means that she can pick up on and read other people’s emotions and moods and tailor the atmosphere accordingly. We can see this in her interaction with people throughout the movie, how she puts them at ease and can use her words, body language, and facial expressions to get out of precarious situations or to help those she feels are anxious or in trouble. She doesn’t like disharmony, and tries to make Jacob Kowalski feel comfortable, even when she’s read his mind and probably some of his more private and embarrassing thoughts. Her first instinct is to make him feel calm, to shield him from embarrassment. I can’t find the exact quote anywhere, because the movie has just come out, but she says something like “Oh, it’s okay, honey. Most men think those things about me at first.”
Queenie is skilled in the art of legilimency, which means that she can understand what other people are thinking and feeling instantly. So whether she’d be an intuitive without this gift is hard to tell. At this point there’s not a plethora of information to draw from for this character so I can only go by what I’ve seen in the movie.
We see Queenie’s tertiary Extraverted Sensing (Se) in the way she adores cooking, baking, dressing up and other sensory experiences. She thinks quickly on her feet when she senses that her sister and Newt are in danger, and can react quickly to come to their aid. Se-users are excellent at responding in a crisis, and can come up with quick solutions, as Queenie does when she gains an insight that her loved ones are in danger.
Jacob Kowalski – ESFJ
Jacob Kowalski, like Queenie, has an innate desire to make people feel at ease and comfortable. He’s instantly friendly, introducing himself to Newton right away when they sit next to each other at the bank. He is polite, good-natured, and engaging, even when he may not feel physically comfortable. He also thinks of manners and politeness, worrying about escaping from Tina and Queenie after they’ve fed him dinner and given him hot chocolate. He’s very concerned with how other people feel.
We see Jacob’s Introverted Sensing (Si) in the way he has practiced and perfected his baking skills over years and years of use, but still relies on his Gradma’s recipe. He doesn’t trust that machines could ever possibly make pastries as good as he can make by hand. He longs to hold onto his memories, his experiences, even as they are occurring. The idea of being “obliterated” or having his memories lost is horrifying to him. He loves to create sensory indulgences in the form of his baked goods, but his creations are largely influenced by his past memories.
We see Jacob’s use of inferior Introverted Thinking (Ti) in the way he accepts what’s happening around him without overthinking or trying to plan a way out of it. He’s willing, even anxious, to learn more about the magical world and creatures around him, but he doesn’t have to control it or try to make sense of it all right away. He’s more concerned with offering support, helping, and encouraging others than providing logical escape routes or plans.
Credence Barebone – INFJ
Okay, there is very little information on Credence Barebone out there, and we really don’t see a lot of him in the movie, so this is a very skeptical typing of him. The reason I would consider him an INFJ is because he’s able to keep his true self hidden in an effort to attain his one goal, getting into Wizarding School and finding an escape from his current life. He’s willing to put up with pain and endless emotional abuse just so that he can find belonging in the Wizarding world. This single-mindedness and ability to “play a part” to survive is very common of stressed INFJs, especially those that are living in abusive circumstances.
Credence has an emotional sensitivity that is always being stifled, on the brink of coming through. He is constantly suppressing his own feelings, stifling them to his own detriment. Yet he is very aware of the moods, anger, bitterness, and fear of others. Because INFJs are Extraverted Feelers, they are somewhat unaware of how they actually feel, and can bury their own negative feelings and suppress them until they reach a breaking point. While they are excellent at picking up on other people’s moods and emotions, their own feelings can often be dark and confusing to them.
Credence Barebone is an Obscurial, which means that he has developed a dark, parasitical magical force, known as an Obscurus, as a result of his magic being suppressed through psychological means due to fear of being persecuted. According to harrypotter.wikia.com, “When an Obscurial reaches their emotional and mental breaking point, they may lose control releasing their Obscurus as an invisible, or nearly invisible, destructive wind, or they may even physically transform into an Obscurus.” INFJs, when experiencing extreme stress, will fall “into the grip” of Extraverted Sensing (Se). When this happens, they can “flip a switch” and become extremely self-destructive, impulsive, and out of control. They can act without thinking, and live entirely in the present moment without thought for the future or past.
DISCLAIMER: I’ve offended one particular INFJ with this typing, but I want to make it clear that this is an example of an unhealthy/stressed INFJ, not a regular, balanced INFJ. Also, this is a character with very little information available, so my typing is definitely sketchy at this point and I’m relying on very limited information. This post is mainly for my own enjoyment, and not meant to be taken too seriously. I retain my right to change my type assessments as more information comes out or more movies are released! What Do You Think? Do you agree with my assessments? Disagree? Let me know in the comments!
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Spot on!
Thank you!
“This single-mindedness and ability to “play a part” to survive is very common of stressed INFJs, especially those that are living in abusive circumstances.”
I’ve never read anything like this about INFJs. I’m wondering where you got this information?
The character has gone through a lot of physical and mental abuse so that plus the lack of info about him makes him impossible to type accurately, in my opinion.
Hi! Thanks for reading this post. Yes, my typing of Credence is still very skeptical at this point because of the fact thats there was so little shown about him and so little dialogue used. I made this clear in the post I believe, and said I may have to change my typing of him as more information comes out (if it does, I hope so!). If I HAD to type him then I would guess INFJ and that’s simply basing it on the way he reacts to extreme stress and the way he uses his anger. I was really relying on what I know about grip-related stress to type him and how INFJs act in the grip of their inferior function, Extraverted Sensing. Credence seems like someone who probably spent the majority of his life in extreme stress. You can read about how INFJs (and other personalities) respond to extreme stress, and these grip experiences, in Naomi Quenk’s book ‘Was That Really Me? How Everyday Stress Brings Out Our Hidden Personality’, and also her book ‘In the Grip: Understanding Type, Stress, and the Inferior Function’. Another good book about the INFJ and how they react to extreme stress is ‘Survival Games Personality Types Play’ by Eve Delunas. All these books talk about how the different types respond to extreme stress and how it can manifest. Naomi Quenk is one of the current contributors to a lot of the Myers-Briggs research, and has also helped to write the most updated MBTI® manual. She talks in her books about how Ni-dominant types can be single-minded in their goals. The “playing a part” aspect is more stress related, and INFJs who feel they can’t survive by being authentic will use their Extraverted Feeling to “read” other people and their intuition to see what part they need to be able to play, how they need to act, to survive. They are very good at determining what other people want because they can so readily pick up on other people’s motives and emotions.
Obviously, Credence Barebone is a fictional character with very little information given about him. He manifests his stress by becoming an obscurial, which is not something that can really be defined in Myers-Briggs terms, because it’s a fantasy world and not based in reality. The closest example I could think of was when an INFJ is experiencing a grip stress response. Like I said in my post, typing him is nearly impossible at this point with so little information, so this is just hesitant guesswork for him more than anything else and I tried to make that clear. I hope this helps to answer your question!
That’s exactly what I thought! I’m an ESFJ and I just knew that Jacob would have to be something very similar. I related to him on so many levels. It’s quite nice to see one of the main characters be an ESFJ since there aren’t many characters of barely anything that are this type. Or it just seems to me like that. 🙂
Also I’m glad someone thinks that Newt is an INFP as well. I thought that too.
(Sorry for bad grammar or syntax, I’m Czech. :))
Great article!
I also think that Credence is an INFJ and I´m this type myself. We are really capable of suppresing our real self, especially when dealing with people that would harm us other way or when it´s needed for a greater purpose or to protect someone else. We need our space and alone time to recharge and we need to feel somehow accepted for who we are or else we can become bitter and turn “bad”. Yes, we certainly has a dark side and it´s truth that we can be out of control and live in the moment when feeling really bad. I think every INFJ would turn mad in the same situation as he experienced. I didn´t like Credence in the movie too much, but I must admit that it´s typical for INFJ to look like a normal, not really interesting or powerful person on the outside and still be very complex, fascinating and competent inside. Also, when he tried to help the girl and was beaten for it… that´s sooo INFJ 🙂
These are the exact typings I was thinking, too! Wonderfully elaborated.
Love all of this! I haven’t felt a character that I resonated with like Queenie in a long time. Was really hoping someone would agree about her ENFJ status 🙂
I love Queenie! Can’t wait for the next movie (and book!) to see how her character develops 🙂
We just finally watched Fantastic Beasts this weekend, and I agree with your typings. Have you typed the other characters from the books? I’ve seen the charts where they try to peg a character for every type (which never works), but I’m interested in your take on it since you actually consider the functions when typing.
I happen to agree with you about what you typed Credence. To be fair, I was really surprised when I first read that a month or so ago, but then I learned more. I stumbled across MBTI at the beginning of the year and it has helped me understand how people can function. I started looking at how my type handles stress (and what to do about it) since this last period of time has been rough for me.
As an INFJ, I can identify with what you say about Credence’s destructive behavior when I look back on times of extreme stress for myself. After experiencing extreme sexual and emotional abuse in ninth grade, I often felt like there was this black cloud trying to burst out of me, and this is and analogy I came up with when Fantastic Beasts was still simply a tiny red book cataloging magical creatures. The analogy I came up with then, and watching this movie as an adult, and the similarity you draw with Credence is uncanny.
Thank you! Believe it or not, this “for-fun” post has kind of helped me understand a few things. =)
As an INFJ I can relate to that darker side.
I see Tina as more a ISFJ. She a protector, that’s why she fought so hard for the people she cares about. I see this with Credence!
This is fascinating! Would you ever consider doing a post like this for Lord of the Rings? Or even just the nine members of the fellowship?
YESSS TINA IS AN ISTJ LIKE MEEE!!!! She seems so much like me because I view things logically and in a practical way like her. I keep my feelings with other privately and I do what I think based on my mind. I also always get her when I take tests on which FB character I am
Great explanation, I agree, I also see this character as an unhealthy, because hurt, INFJ.
I meant Credence Barebone of course :).