Rush Hour: Yan Naing Lee (ISFJ)

Rush Hour is a series of three movies, with a fourth coming out in 2024. There are two main characters in the show, Carter and Lee. Our focus in this article is on Lee. Unfortunately, we may have to utilize some stereotypes to support our ISFJ conclusion on Lee, because his character doesn’t get fleshed out extremely well. (That’s a common theme for movies that are primarily action-packed.) However, we are fairly confident in concluding that Lee is an ISFJ, for reasons that we will share below.

Si:

“I never should have brought you.”

“You know what your problem is? You need to relax, have some fun. You have too much rice in your diet. You’re constipated.” – Carter to Lee

Lee is a somewhat rigid individual. Of course, we’re not referring to his Kung Fu skills when we say that. While he has some comedic moments, Lee overall tends to be more serious and quiet, focused primarily on gathering information and fulfilling his responsibilities. He lets Carter make a lot of assumptions after initially meeting him, by simply not speaking. Carter assumes he can’t speak English, which allows Lee to learn a lot about Carter and what’s going on.

Lee demonstrates a tendency to get stuck on the past. There are a couple of ways that this manifests. For instance, he’ll express regret over a past action shortly after the fact, such as “I never should have brought you” even though it’s already too late. While everyone can express regret over a past action, it’s common for Si dominants (ISFJ or ISTJ) to express this mid-action, essentially allowing the regret to distract from the current task. However, the more detrimental way that Lee gets stuck in the past is shown in how he holds grudges.

In the third movie, Lee struggles to get along with Carter because for the past few years, he’s resented Carter for accidentally shooting his girlfriend. For the record, while that mistake is nothing to laugh about, Lee seems the most upset about the fact that she broke up with him over it, even though they had barely begun dating. After that incident, he’s even resistant to Carter helping him meet someone else, which technically has nothing to do with what happened before. He’s just trying to avoid Carter being connected to his relationships in any way, in case Carter causes one to fail again.

Fe:

“A man like you could never understand…Devoted only to yourself. You’re ashamed of being a police officer. You dishonor your father’s name.”

As mentioned, Lee puts his responsibilities first. Lee typically doesn’t deviate from his orders, unless strongly encouraged to do so by an external factors. The tendency to adhere to an external set of standards or rules is tied to a high, extraverted judging function. However, when high extraverted judging is coupled with dominant Si, it’s extremely common for the individual to resist disobeying rules, for the sake of security. (For the record, we’re not saying that ISXJs are always staunch rule-followers or that they’re the only types to take rules seriously.) Carter is typically the one that encourages Lee to break the rules. For instance, in the first movie, Lee is ordered to go back to Hong Kong after the FBI blame Carter and him for ruining the ransom drop. Lee accepts this without complaint, albeit reluctantly, and Carter has to sneak on board the airplane to change his mind.

Lee is extremely respectful and strives to act properly. Of course, some of this is likely encouraged by his culture. Unlike Carter, Lee avoids arguing and back talking, accepting most things without complaint. Overall, he seems conflict avoidant in his relationships, which is why he avoids confronting Carter directly about his anger over the past. He acts more passive aggressively, and tries to find indirect ways to get rid of him. For instance, in the third movie, he initially tells Carter to go home because “This is the business of China.” Later, he finally states that he doesn’t need him, but then politely adds ”And please don’t call me brother.” Carter has to bring up the real issue directly to get Lee to hash it out with him.

At one point in the first movie, Lee does accuse Carter of being selfish, when Carter is already stirring up trouble with him. As someone coming from the opposite school of thought, Lee disapproves of someone who is ashamed of being a police officer and dishonoring his family.

Ti:

“I am not responsible for your assumptions… Not being able to speak is not the same as not speaking.”

Lee keeps a lot of his independent opinions and thoughts to himself, until backed into a corner. When faced with unavoidable conflict, Lee can get very critical, and share harsh opinions without regard for the other person’s feelings. Carter puts him in this situation multiple times. However, his tertiary Ti also manifests as a quiet stubbornness. When he figures out that Carter is giving him the run around in the first movie, Lee doesn’t try to forcefully take control of the situation. Instead, his approach is to pretend to listen, and then sneak away at the first opportunity. He takes this more subtle approach multiple times, acting as if he’s going to obey but then deviating at the first opportunity.

From a verbal standpoint, a good example of Lee’s Ti logic is shown when Carter gets angry once realizing that Lee actually can speak English. He essentially accuses Lee of lying to him. However, Lee points out that Carter made an assumption, and that not being able to speak isn’t the same as not speaking. He basically points out that Carter made a bad logical leap, because the two things are technically not the same. He eventually admits to Carter that he likes to let people talk who like to talk, so he can figure them out.

Ne:

“I’m your brother, and I’m fly. You down with that, Snoopy? That’s dope, isn’t it?”

Lee struggles to free himself from his responsibilities, and actually have fun. Throughout the movies, he can get so focused on work that he fails to enjoy himself or appreciate opportunities that come his way. For instance, in the second movie, Lee keeps getting drawn back into work instead of showing Carter around Hong Kong for his vacation. Typically, Carter is the one encouraging him to relax and have fun.

Lee does get influenced somewhat by Carter’s Ne. While he’s not one to make all the references or run the tangents that Carter does, he does have a few odd moments where he’ll essentially try to mimic Carter’s Ne. For instance, in the conversation where Carter claims to be half-Chinese, Lee also tries to talk like he’s black, using terms and references that the learned from Carter. (See the quote at the top of this section.) Of course, Carter dismisses this attempt, by saying that Lee doesn’t fit the height requirement.