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 Caesar’s personality type, we couldn’t find as much information to support it as we usually like to. To be frank, if this wasn’t a paid request, we wouldn’t be writing an analysis for the character at all, because there isn’t enough information to prove his entire cognitive function stack. But, we prefer to avoid backing out of paid requests once we’ve committed to them, so I’m 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:

“If we go to war, we could lose all we’ve built. Home. Family. Future.”

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. He’s 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, “I will decide by morning.” 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 doesn’t really have a vision, beyond creating a secure and stable home for himself among other apes. Once he creates that, Caesar doesn’t 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. He’s 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:

“Don’t worry… Maurice. You are all… home, now. Apes are strong… with… or without me.”

Caesar values family and tribe. He demonstrates this early on, while talking to Maurice, by saying for the very first time: “Apes alone weak. Apes together strong.” 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, they’ll lose apes. As a result, he’s willing to work with the humans, in spite of his concerns. Caesar trusts apes simply due to the fact that they are apes. He’s not actually critical enough in that way, which is why he isn’t able to predict how far Koba’s hate will drive him.

Caesar isn’t 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.