Planet of the Apes: Caesar (ISFJ)
We accepted a request for the Planet of the Apes reboot trilogy, specifically focusing on Caesar, the main character. Unfortunately, while we settled on ISFJ for Caesarโs personality type, we couldnโt find as much information to support it as we usually like to. To be frank, if this wasnโt a paid request, we wouldnโt be writing an analysis for the character at all, because there isnโt enough information to prove his entire cognitive function stack. But, we prefer to avoid backing out of paid requests once weโve committed to them, so Iโm going to share the evidence that we do have, and what led us to our conclusion. Our typical character analyses do a four function cognitive breakdown, but this article will only do the top two functions. If you found evidence that we missed, feel free to share in the comments!
Si:
โIf we go to war, we could lose all weโve built. Home. Family. Future.โ
Caesar is surprisingly level-headed. In the second movie, he constantly considers the implications of his actions, and weighs the potential outcomes before deciding on anything. Heโs not hasty when making decisions, and seems to prefer waiting if he can. At one point, early in the second movie, the other apes are looking at him to make a decision, and he says, โI will decide by morning.โ This all suggests introvert, and most likely an introverted perceiving dominant (IXXJ), especially considering the evidence for high extraverted judging that will be discussed in the next section.
The most prominent theory on Caesar is INFJ, how we see nothing that specifically suggests Ni. Caesar doesnโt really have a vision, beyond creating a secure and stable home for himself among other apes. Once he creates that, Caesar doesnโt appear to have any further plans for the future, beyond preserving the life he now has. In addition, throughout the series, he seems to stick with what is familiar. For instance, he leads the escaped apes to the redwood forest, where Will used to take him. Similarly, in the second movie, after being shot, he goes to his childhood home to hide. All of this looks more Si than Ni.
Caesar also tends to recount specific information when explaining his conclusions. His conversation with the Colonel in the third movie demonstrates this. Caesar recounts the different things he had observed, such as the dead soldiers, and shares his conclusions based on those data points. Heโs not shown making any grand leaps, or discussing big picture implications. (A good contrast here would be to the Colonel, who does focus on planet-wide implications in that conversation. He believes that the future of humankind is riding on the outcome of his mission, and he foresees what will happen if he fails.)
Fe:
โDonโt worryโฆ Maurice. You are allโฆ home, now. Apes are strongโฆ withโฆ or without me.โ
Caesar values family and tribe. He demonstrates this early on, while talking to Maurice, by saying for the very first time: โApes alone weak. Apes together strong.โ He repeats this sentiment, word-for-word, over and over again through the series. It drives him to enhance them with the virus, free them from their prison, and form an ape community. He also tries to win favor with his fellow apes while in prison (so he can unite them) by stealing cookies and giving them out.
Since he values his fellow apes more than anything else, Caesar spends the majority of the second movie desperately avoiding war, striving to maintain peace. He keeps saying that if they start a war, theyโll lose apes. As a result, heโs willing to work with the humans, in spite of his concerns. Caesar trusts apes simply due to the fact that they are apes. Heโs not actually critical enough in that way, which is why he isnโt able to predict how far Kobaโs hate will drive him.
Caesar isnโt one to demonstrate his physical power or exert his authority unless absolutely necessary. He often yields to others, which is why his son is able to get away with ignoring him in the first movie and why Maurice ends up taking the girl with them in the third movie. Caesar will exert his authority in absolutely critical moments, but otherwise err more on the side of diplomacy.
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Is there a reason why yaโll stopped putting out evidence for tertiary/inferior functions?
We only left out tertiary and inferior on this particular article. I explained why at the beginning of the article.
Iโm very very sorry. I was just about to reply how my dumbass didnโt read the beginning and just went straight to the analysis, but the site doesnโt allow me to reply to my own unapproved comment, so I leftโฆ and forgot to reply back.
hmm, soo i doubt youโd be willing do Koba if I offered to pay?
Nope, sorry
I only watched the first film of the reboot trilogy, but I think I vaguely remember Caesar rebelling against humanity due to mistreatment? I thought he might count as a rare ISFJ villain (the only other instance I can think of is that some people typed Sandman from Spider-Man 3 as an ISFJ), but reading this it kind of sounds like he might be more anโฆ anti-hero? It sounds like an interesting dynamic, though, with him creating a community and doing anything to maintain and keep that community together despite outside forces.
The movies definitely didnโt frame him as a villain. More like a victim, so I donโt even think heโd count as an anti-hero.
I see youโs came to the same conclusion as I did.
I agree that there isnโt much to go off of for lower functions. Any evidence I spotted was very scant and almost along the lines of โCaesar did this thingโ etc or some other very basic statement like that. I also like to think it highlights his overreliance on his top two functions since heโs very steadfast on his sentiments and desire for harmony.
On a side note, after reading about the majority vote on his type, it came to my realisation just how much the infj label is slapped on to some characters without a second thought.
Yeeahhh, people are very quick to type any โinterestingโ IXFJ character as an INFJ, because ISFJs are basically seen like NPCs.