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Enneagram Movie and Video Guide: How to See Personality Types in the Movies
Whether you are a movie lover, aspiring actor, storyteller, student of psychology or Enneagram enthusiast, this spirited original book will alter the way you see movies forever. From classics to independent films to mega-hits like Titanic, personality types are everywhere in the movies — if you know how to see them. The Enneagram is a fascinating and popular system that describes nine personality types that human beings most favor. It is used in communication, self knowledge, story construction, actors. Knowledge of the Enneagram is helpful in dozens of ways, from understanding relationships to improving communication to handling difficult people. Newcomers to the Enneagram are often amazed to find clear accurate portraits of themselves and everyone else that they know. The Enneagram is about people — how we are the same, how we are different, what makes us tick. Written in a lively entertaining style, The Enneagram Movie & Video Guide "cracks the code"/with help you learn the Enneagram quickly and apply it towards the personal and professional goals most important to you. This book is an indispensable source for movie buffs, students of human behavior and the Enneagram alike.This 2nd edition is updated and enlarged, including a new Master Index as well as advanced Enneagram distinctions like wings and subtypes. Thomas Condon has worked with the Enneagram since 1979. He has taught at Antioch University, and the University of California, Berkeley, as well as in hundreds of workshops in the U.S. and Europe. He is the author of 35 audiotapes and two books.
- GenresNonfiction
249 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 1994
49 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
September 29, 2022
I bought this on a whim after hearing Tom Condon discuss fictional characters on The Enneagram at the Movies podcast, and it was a swift, engaging read that left me thinking about particular films in a new way. I was curious to see where his opinion on some characters would be different from mine; in some instances, we agreed, and in others, it surprised me that he didn't see what I saw. There were other examples that made me go, "Ohh, yes, of course! That makes sense!" where I saw a character differently and more clearly.
He's a connoisseur of older films, which means 80% of what he's going to recommend as a good example of this or that type is going to be dated from the 60s/70s/80s/early 90s. There are a few mid-90s films but not very many (and a few later ones in his added section), and some from the Golden Age of Hollywood. So unless you are either into old movies or interested in them, you may not recognize his examples. I did write down a long list of movies "to-watch" based on this, among them classics involving Bogart, Hepburn, and a young Meryl Streep.
My quibbles are minor, and mainly addressed in the sections where he doesn't expound much. He briefly says Father Goose is a good example of a 1w2 in the female main character, interacting with a "5ish" Cary Grant; but Cary Grant's character is an sp8 -- assertive, belligerent, confrontational, and quarrelsome. He typed John Malcovich's Valmont a 3w4 in Dangerous Liaisons, whereas I see him as an 8 -- openly hostile, aggressive, unapologetic about his hedonism, and proud that he can seduce the 9w1 "virtuous" wife by not even PRETENDING to be good (I would agree with him that Colin Firth's Valmont, however, is a 3 -- he's much softer). He also lists Norman Bates as a 6 in Psycho without an explanation. I always saw him as a passive, accommodating 9w1 who merged into his mother's desires for him and then berated himself with 1 wing super-ego shame for his sexual desires.
One interesting thing he does is comment on how often actors play their own type, or how it influences HOW they play their characters -- using Gregory Peck, a 1, as an example and referencing one movie where he was supposed to be playing an 8 and gave it "a moralistic edge." I've noticed that as well, where the actor's type blurs over the characterization -- Tom Hanks, if he really is a 7 like Condon thinks he is, brings a likable eccentricity to MOST of his roles. The same with Robin Williams, who can't play a 5 or a 9 without that child-like big-eyed wonder.
He's a connoisseur of older films, which means 80% of what he's going to recommend as a good example of this or that type is going to be dated from the 60s/70s/80s/early 90s. There are a few mid-90s films but not very many (and a few later ones in his added section), and some from the Golden Age of Hollywood. So unless you are either into old movies or interested in them, you may not recognize his examples. I did write down a long list of movies "to-watch" based on this, among them classics involving Bogart, Hepburn, and a young Meryl Streep.
My quibbles are minor, and mainly addressed in the sections where he doesn't expound much. He briefly says Father Goose is a good example of a 1w2 in the female main character, interacting with a "5ish" Cary Grant; but Cary Grant's character is an sp8 -- assertive, belligerent, confrontational, and quarrelsome. He typed John Malcovich's Valmont a 3w4 in Dangerous Liaisons, whereas I see him as an 8 -- openly hostile, aggressive, unapologetic about his hedonism, and proud that he can seduce the 9w1 "virtuous" wife by not even PRETENDING to be good (I would agree with him that Colin Firth's Valmont, however, is a 3 -- he's much softer). He also lists Norman Bates as a 6 in Psycho without an explanation. I always saw him as a passive, accommodating 9w1 who merged into his mother's desires for him and then berated himself with 1 wing super-ego shame for his sexual desires.
One interesting thing he does is comment on how often actors play their own type, or how it influences HOW they play their characters -- using Gregory Peck, a 1, as an example and referencing one movie where he was supposed to be playing an 8 and gave it "a moralistic edge." I've noticed that as well, where the actor's type blurs over the characterization -- Tom Hanks, if he really is a 7 like Condon thinks he is, brings a likable eccentricity to MOST of his roles. The same with Robin Williams, who can't play a 5 or a 9 without that child-like big-eyed wonder.
May 25, 2011
Though I never mentioned it here, I've been slowly working through this book for a while now.
It's another book about the Enneagram and character development. Only, it was written a near decade before Judith Searle's. It seems she's not quite the innovator I thought she was! Not only did she thieve Thomas Condon's basic premise, she revisited many of the same story-lines and bickered with Condon on minor points.
Of course, I'd much rather read about good books than (mostly bad) films. But, Condon's book on film has tremendous insight into human behavior and I appreciate the simplicity of his descriptions. It's also a great resource for films that align with one's own world view!
It's another book about the Enneagram and character development. Only, it was written a near decade before Judith Searle's. It seems she's not quite the innovator I thought she was! Not only did she thieve Thomas Condon's basic premise, she revisited many of the same story-lines and bickered with Condon on minor points.
Of course, I'd much rather read about good books than (mostly bad) films. But, Condon's book on film has tremendous insight into human behavior and I appreciate the simplicity of his descriptions. It's also a great resource for films that align with one's own world view!
April 2, 2008
The enneagram is more than a typology. In part, it is about what motivates an individual in their interactions with their environment/world. This book uses familiar personalities in movies and videos to discuss the enneagram. Condon distinguishes between the actor and the role s/he is playing, wings and instinctual variants very well. It's a FUN book for anyone who is going beyond the typology of the enneagram...and perhaps for those who aren't also.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews