For Dorothy, there is the desire to return to her home in Kansas. It is the Good Witch (not the Wizard) who points out to Dorothy that she needs to look inside herself for the truth, caring, and courage needed to fulfill her dreams. She, too, has only to look inward to find home. Too often, she has taken for granted the “smarts”, the “heart,” and the “ferocious devotion” of folks living with her in Kansas.
It is interesting to note that our three characters remain in Oz. They assume posts of leadership in the Emerald City (as the Wizard flies off in his balloon).
Star Trek
We can move forward by four decades (and many centuries) to the galaxy of the Starship Enterprise, which is led by Captain James Kirk alongside his loyal and competent crew. In the character of James Kirk (played by William Shatner) we find the exemplification of the Ruby Red preference. In keeping with the general theme of the television and movie series, Captain Kirk boldly (and “ruby redly”) goes where no one else has gone! In doing so, he gets into trouble—as do many extreme Ruby Reds. He exemplifies action without thought (Golden Yellow) or direction (Azure Blue).
This brings us to the physician on the Starship Enterprise. It is Leonard McCoy (“Bones”) (played by DeForest Kelley). While Bones is a skillful and caring doctor, he is also quite emotional and gets into trouble, or at least doesn’t help matters, when he focuses on doing the healing rather than trying to prevent the injury. Like many of the extreme Azure Blues, Bones is not inclined to be thoughtful and reasonable. In his frequent conflicts with the third character, Mr. Spock (who personifies the Golden Yellow), Dr. McCoy is often heard declaring: “I’m sick and tired of your logic!”
This leaves us with the third character, Spock (played by Leonard Nimoy), who is half human and half Vulcan. He is a being that desperately wants to remain rational under all conditions (struggling at times with the human half of him). Spoke gets into trouble or is not always helpful precisely because he gets caught up in the data without considering the human cost. One of the wonderful statements made by Spoke exemplifies his Thoughtful Golden Yellow perspective: “May I say that I have not thoroughly enjoyed serving with humans. I find their illogic and foolish emotions a constant irritant.”
Where then do extraverted and introverted attitudes enter this starship? As we noted regarding The Wizard of Oz, a certain level of extraversion is needed in any theatrical presentation (be it in movies or on television). There has to be some action that displays something about what the principal actors are thinking and feeling. Yet, as in the case of our Ozian characters, there are some strong, but hidden thoughts and feelings that are not always in full display.
This is particularly to be found in the character of Spock. While his human side is quite extraverted, his Vulcan side is decidedly introverted. He does love rationality (this love itself being quite irrational) and is often seen looking at a screen displaying information when standing on the deck. While the focus in these scenes might be on Captain Kirk or other crew members, there is usually the quiet, introverted Spock pondering the data. While there is no tent erected on the Enterprise’s bridge, Spock might as well be inside a tent, as he concentrates on the complex “reality” of life in outer space. He comes out of the tent when “Jim” (Captain Kirk) asks for the quadrants or the status of the fuel supply. And of course, he is a long way from the comfort of the tent when stranded on some alien planet. As noted, Spock often gets in trouble when operating in isolation – though he is really “bonkers” when “in heat,” “in rage” and fully human!
