Posted by John Fast on December 24, 1998 at 08:11:37:
A while ago, someone was asking about good depictions of
Type Ones in the movies. Personally, I believe that some
of the best depictions of Enneagram Types can be found on
television, especially because the the extended nature of
a series allows more time with the characters, which means
more depth.
Probably my two favorite shows are _Law and Order_ and
_Homicide: Life on the Street_; and each of them has a
very well-written One. On _Law and Order_, it's Jack
McCoy, the District Attorney played by Sam Waterston
(a real-life One). McCoy is judgemental, moralizing,
sanctimonious, self-righteous, and willing to abuse the
powers of his position, to bend and even break the rules
with a clear conscience while holding others to a strict
standard. For example, he deliberately withheld evidence
that would have reduced the sentence of a drunk driver
(because his lover was killed by a drunk driver); he had
the police harass a paroled rapist (because he was
absolutely sure that the man would commit another crime);
and in general he shows absolutely no doubts of his own
views, and no compassion for or even understanding of
opposing points of view in political matters (e.g., abortion).
Lieutenant Al "Gee" Giardello on _Homicide: Life on the
Street_, played by Yaphet Kotto, is a much more relaxed
and tolerant One -- but he's still a perfectionist. His
desk is kept clean and organized (in one episode, he is
shown sorting out the contents of its drawers), he goes
by the book, he is very emotionally controlled -- when he
was snubbed for a promotion that he had been promised
and wanted more than anything else in the world, and
deserved according to all reasonable standards (his
record, his seniority, his score on the police exam)
and it went to an incompetent, bigoted bully whom he
personally hated and was now his superior, he stayed
calm and polite and only vented his rage by hitting the
wall when he was alone. He also apparently knows every
street in the city, since he identified one of the smallest
and most obscure ones immediately . . . and described it
as "exactly three blocks north of [some other street]
and one block west of [another street]." Finally, he's
solicitious of his "police family," not merely in terms
of loyalty but in terms of worrying about their emotional
happiness, trying to make sure each pair of detectives
performs well *and* is emotionally compatible. He also
worries about moral issues, such as when it's appropriate
to bend or even ignore the law in the service of justice
and compassion.
Is anyone else here a fan of those two shows, or of
_NYPD Blue_ (another of my favorites)?
--
John Fast
jfast@fastindustries.com or caliban@gate.net
ENTJ/1 (self-preservation)
"Raise consciousness, not taxes."