How would you describe this character type?

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Usually featured in the science fiction genre but not exclusive to it. I will mention two characters so you know what I'm talking about.

Meredith Vickers, played by Charlize Theron in Prometheus 2012



Jessica Delacourt played by Jodie Foster in Elysium 2013


They're not always female. Although I have seen this character type in other films. They're usually "up tight", robotic but nevertheless logical. Can you think of any other characters you have seen that fit this type?

Hopefully this is not too strange a thread given that it is my first post on here



Victim of The Night
Usually featured in the science fiction genre but not exclusive to it. I will mention two characters so you know what I'm talking about.

Meredith Vickers, played by Charlize Theron in Prometheus 2012



Jessica Delacourt played by Jodie Foster in Elysium 2013


They're not always female. Although I have seen this character type in other films. They're usually "up tight", robotic but nevertheless logical. Can you think of any other characters you have seen that fit this type?

Hopefully this is not too strange a thread given that it is my first post on here
Yeah, I would say that character probably qualifies as a trope at this point.
I'll think about it and come back maybe with some examples in the morning.
I'm not sure what I'd call it yet, I'll give it some thought.



Yeah, I would say that character probably qualifies as a trope at this point.
I'll think about it and come back maybe with some examples in the morning.
I'm not sure what I'd call it yet, I'll give it some thought.
Thanks! I know there are many more examples of this character but can't think of them off the top of my head.



Yes! I was going to include him but chose to stick to humans but the characters listed above do exhibit Vulcan tendencies especially in regards to how intelligent/logical/uptight they are. All main Vulcan characters in Star Trek from Tuvok to T'Pol exemplify the character type I am talking about.



Would Bomb #20 in Dark Star qualify?

*not human, withdrawn



Not necessarily sci-fi, but Charlize Theron in anything. She seems to always be like an angry android. Even when she smiles it seems like the robot programming had a code line that said, "smile for 2.8 seconds".



Going by those two particular characters...

... calm, cold, calculated, almost emotionless, single-mindedly focused on the mission at hand, with all thoughts either on personal gain or on company gain, regardless of the people around them...

Sociopath.
Although, Sociopaths tend to be born that way, whereas a Psychopath is "made"... so Vickers in Prometheus, you get insight into her background.
Her Father was a cold, calculating multi-trillionaire. Probably a Functioning Psychopath or Functioning Sociopath himself.

He had little time for his female child... instead giving more time and thought into never having a real Son. So he built one, and his only connection in terms of love, was to his "android Son" David.
Given Vickers' background of a loveless Father, she could be said to be a Psychopath.
---
Believe it or not, Psychopaths aren't just people who go around mindlessly murdering others with knives and axes.
Most people in high ranking places, rich, successful, politically powerful and so on, are what's called Functioning Psychopaths, and Functioning Sociopaths.
This basically describes Vickers' Father.
---
So, Vickers is probably a Functioning Psychopath.
As for Delacourt in Elysium... given that we don't know her background, her childhood etc... either Functioning Sociopath or Functioning Psychopath.



Just thinking of other characters in other movies...

Google brings up the Patrick Bateman character and Hannibal Lector... they're not though.
They're Psychotic.
Psychotics... aren't Psychopathic or Sociopathic.
Psychotics are people who lose all outlook on reality. They imagine things that never happened and act out violently toward others when they imagine they've been slighted.

Similar ones though to Vickers and Delacourt:

John Wick
Snake Plissken
Batman, specifically Keaton's and Bale's Batmans's'ss are definitely Sociopathic.
Nebula in the MCU is a Psychopath.
Will Smith's character Robert Neville in I Am Legend is probably Psychopathic.
Javier Bardem in No Country is probably Psychopathic, though we don't know his background maybe Sociopathic.



Anti-villain, maybe? They're both characters who think they're doing something of value, but there are actually grave consequences to their actions.

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But their actions are still completely logical.



Going by those two particular characters...

... calm, cold, calculated, almost emotionless, single-mindedly focused on the mission at hand, with all thoughts either on personal gain or on company gain, regardless of the people around them...

Sociopath.
Although, Sociopaths tend to be born that way, whereas a Psychopath is "made"... so Vickers in Prometheus, you get insight into her background.
Her Father was a cold, calculating multi-trillionaire. Probably a Functioning Psychopath or Functioning Sociopath himself.

He had little time for his female child... instead giving more time and thought into never having a real Son. So he built one, and his only connection in terms of love, was to his "android Son" David.
Given Vickers' background of a loveless Father, she could be said to be a Psychopath.
---
Believe it or not, Psychopaths aren't just people who go around mindlessly murdering others with knives and axes.
Most people in high ranking places, rich, successful, politically powerful and so on, are what's called Functioning Psychopaths, and Functioning Sociopaths.
This basically describes Vickers' Father.
---
So, Vickers is probably a Functioning Psychopath.
As for Delacourt in Elysium... given that we don't know her background, her childhood etc... either Functioning Sociopath or Functioning Psychopath.
I wouldn't go as far as to call them sociopaths but they certainly have less emotional baggage and concerns than the average person. These characters really stand out from the rest of the characters they are with. Where as the rest of the characters are generally less intelligent, more disorganised and more sociable, the character type of Vickers or Delacourt seem to keep themselves to themselves.



Just thinking of other characters in other movies...

Google brings up the Patrick Bateman character and Hannibal Lector... they're not though.
They're Psychotic.
Psychotics... aren't Psychopathic or Sociopathic.
Psychotics are people who lose all outlook on reality. They imagine things that never happened and act out violently toward others when they imagine they've been slighted.

Similar ones though to Vickers and Delacourt:

John Wick
Snake Plissken
Batman, specifically Keaton's and Bale's Batmans's'ss are definitely Sociopathic.
Nebula in the MCU is a Psychopath.
Will Smith's character Robert Neville in I Am Legend is probably Psychopathic.
Javier Bardem in No Country is probably Psychopathic, though we don't know his background maybe Sociopathic.
I think narcissistic traits are common in all of them regardless of sociopathy or psychopathy. But then again narcissism is highly subjective. Patrick Bateman, Hannibal Lector, Vickers, Delacourt whether they are sociopaths or psychopaths all are highly intelligent and think of themselves as important (whether they are or they are not).



Ok... another term would be Apathetic.

Ex_Machina is a perfect example.

Nathan is either Psychopathic or Sociopathic, given we don't know his background.
Although, he uses solitary living, with nothing but his work around him. He says it's because of classified research, yet he displays the behavioural traits of either a Psychopath or Sociopath.

His only company being that of the robots he builds... he brings in Caleb to test his creations.

Caleb discovering what Nathan has been doing, with Nathan even somehow managing to drive his A.I creations to madness... and then there's Ava.
Ava is a fully functioning Psychopath, and/or Sociopath. She's was "born" that way given her programming comes from the past, failed A.I creations. Plus, she's been treated a certain way by Nathan...
Ava is both.



Ok... another term would be Apathetic.

Ex_Machina is a perfect example.

Nathan is either Psychopathic or Sociopathic, given we don't know his background.
Although, he uses solitary living, with nothing but his work around him. He says it's because of classified research, yet he displays the behavioural traits of either a Psychopath or Sociopath.

His only company being that of the robots he builds... he brings in Caleb to test his creations.

Caleb discovering what Nathan has been doing, with Nathan even somehow managing to drive his A.I creations to madness... and then there's Ava.
Ava is a fully functioning Psychopath, and/or Sociopath. She's was "born" that way given her programming comes from the past, failed A.I creations. Plus, she's been treated a certain way by Nathan...
Ava is both.
But having said that a commonality in a lot of these characters is they seem to have a mission/belief that is incredibly important and they are willing to do close to anything to carry that mission or belief out. If they were narcissistic then why would Vickers risk her life to carry on the mission or why would Delacourt risk her career to carry out her beliefs about the security of Elysium? I think that's what is the most important commonality in these characters, they have a mission/belief system that is more important than the triviality of human sentimentality that the rest of the less intelligent crew/cast invest in. They can be villainous or not. I don't think it's exclusive that they are villains.



Ah with Vickers, she didn't exactly want to be there.
David is also, seemingly, abover her in the pecking order... but Vickers explains to the others, that seeing as she is there, she's in charge. She doesn't care about the chain of command. She's in charge.
They do nothing without her approval, and everything they do, or find, is to be reported to her and her alone, before anyone else.
She is all about the mission at hand. The mission is what counts. The people doing the mission, don't. They're there just to do their job.
Her cold outlook on lives of others, even to the point of highly persecutory self-preservation, is what makes her a functioning psychopath/sociopath.
She even burns a crew member who is sick, simply to save herself. 1 life is disposable if it means she, and the mission, are completed.
She's a Sociopath.

As for Delacourt... she's about 4 or 5 levels below the top of the chain.
She's the person-on-the-ground so to speak.
Her task, is to ensure the day to day running of Elysium is smooth... that the security is perfect.
And she will order her people to fire upon illegal immigrants... so that the rich people can carry on living their upper-class lives... and she remains in her position of authority.
When things start looking awry... Delacourt completely ignores orders given to her by her superiors.
She also orders the information in Max's brain to be decoded, regardless of the fact that doing so, will kill him.

Her entire existence, is ensuring Elysium is running smoothly, and the rich, including her, stay rich... and the poor stay poor.
Should anyone stand in her way, tries to undermine her authority... whether it's ignoring her superiors and speaking to them like they're sub-par-humans, or going for straight up murder, she does what she has to, to stay in her position of power.
Delacourt is more than likely Psychopathic.



Ah with Vickers, she didn't exactly want to be there.
David is also, seemingly, abover her in the pecking order... but Vickers explains to the others, that seeing as she is there, she's in charge. She doesn't care about the chain of command. She's in charge.
They do nothing without her approval, and everything they do, or find, is to be reported to her and her alone, before anyone else.
She is all about the mission at hand. The mission is what counts. The people doing the mission, don't. They're there just to do their job.
Her cold outlook on lives of others, even to the point of highly persecutory self-preservation, is what makes her a functioning psychopath/sociopath.
She even burns a crew member who is sick, simply to save herself. 1 life is disposable if it means she, and the mission, are completed.
She's a Sociopath.

As for Delacourt... she's about 4 or 5 levels below the top of the chain.
She's the person-on-the-ground so to speak.
Her task, is to ensure the day to day running of Elysium is smooth... that the security is perfect.
And she will order her people to fire upon illegal immigrants... so that the rich people can carry on living their upper-class lives... and she remains in her position of authority.
When things start looking awry... Delacourt completely ignores orders given to her by her superiors.
She also orders the information in Max's brain to be decoded, regardless of the fact that doing so, will kill him.

Her entire existence, is ensuring Elysium is running smoothly, and the rich, including her, stay rich... and the poor stay poor.
Should anyone stand in her way, tries to undermine her authority... whether it's ignoring her superiors and speaking to them like they're sub-par-humans, or going for straight up murder, she does what she has to, to stay in her position of power.
Delacourt is more than likely Psychopathic.
The person Vickers burnt was turning into one of those things. If she allowed it onto the ship it would of attacked the other crew members. Shouldn't she of burnt him to stop the spread?

As for Delacourt she almost gets fired by the president of Elysium for destroying the ships that were attempting to get into Elysium. If she was purely someone who cared for themselves they would not of opened fire in order to preserve their career and they would not of defended hiring mercenaries on Earth to carry out missions. Max was already going to die from the radiation poisoning so it would of made no difference.