Dual post by Guest Writer, Zachary Schulman (ENFP), with developmental editing by Arvid Walton

Tron Legacy

Dominant Extraverted Intuition (Ne): The opening lines of Tron herald untold possibilities, shaping the world seen on the screen with systems and pathways. During his young (before his imprisonment on the Grid), he marvels about the digital frontier, saying that “in there, is a new world. In there, is our destiny.” The ultimate goal of Kevin Flynn is quickly fulfilled as he bursts his way into this other world: the physical, yet digital frontier.

Auxiliary Introverted Feeling (Fi): Dreaming of escaping the oppressive world to a place where information could be free, Kevin Flynn founded a paradise. A creative glow flourished in the digital frontier, and energy began to travel in ways humanity could never have imagined. Flynn envisions himself as a hero at the centre of all things, perhaps achieving some ancient prophecy and taking the next evolutionary step in regards to humanity’s destiny, which he believes it is his life’s mission to fulfill.

Tertiary Extraverted Thinking (Te): Dipping into the lower functions, Kevin Flynn’s desire to control the world on a large scale becomes apparent. Evidenced in his literary shadow, CLU, Kevin Flynn harbours narcissism. Believing in his ability to exert control over a world he previously found incompetent and in need of authoritarian repair
—for him, the threat of CLU leaving the digital frontier has global repercussions. If he’d stayed behind in the real world, an unchecked Kevin Flynn would have used his corporate powers to dominate the world. It was in the fear of things that he could not control that Kevin Flynn failed as a father.

Inferior Introverted Sensing (Si): Despite his fascination with new possibilities, Flynn has a preference for sameness where his personal growth is concerned. Hiding in the loft of his arcade to escape to the new Grid he helped create, Flynn neglected his son, a choice that required active refusal to change for many years. This is representative of a person stuck in the grip of his lower functions, and it’s only through the eventual acceptance of his destiny as a father (that Sam is in fact his greatest creation) that he can finally break out of it and dominate the digital frontier. Symbolically integrating his literary shadow, CLU, Kevin Flynn gives up his ghost and grants closure to his once orphaned son.