The Enneagram in a Movie

Clyde Barrow picks up Bonnie Parker and tells her: your regular life isn't your destiny. What drives Clyde and Bonnie to rob banks in Depression-era Texas isn't greed—it's the burning need to be known, to be somebody the world will remember. Mario Sikora, TJ Dawe, and TJ Ingrassia trace the Transmitting Three through the 1967 classic: how aspiration, magnetism, and the hunger for notoriety shape these characters' every move.The hosts examine Bonnie and Clyde (1967) through the Transmitting Three. Clyde promises Bonnie that her life as a waitress is beneath her—that she's destined for fame and notoriety. The core driver isn't violence or theft, but aspiration: the need to be known, to cut a path across the country that everyone will recognize. Bonnie and Clyde embody the Transmitting Three's hunger for excellence and external validation, their magnetism and charm, and how they perform their identities for an audience. The key difference: the Transmitting Three *needs* the world to see their success. Where the Preserving Three in Layer Cake keeps a low profile and manages systems quietly, Clyde operates as a Transmitting Three. Bonnie's instinct to photograph themselves with the sheriff they've captured—building a brand—anticipates social media. The hosts compare Clyde to other Three archetypes (the Navigating Three in Six Degrees of Separation) and touch on Badlands as another Transmitting Three film.Chapters0:00:00 Welcome to Bonnie and Clyde0:09:02 The Desire to Feel Outstanding0:20:24 Sensitivity Beneath the Bravado0:34:49 How Clyde Thinks About Success0:39:31 Three Ways to Be a Criminal Three0:44:58 The First InstagramResources mentioned in this episodePictures at a Revolution — Mark Harris — TJ Dawe references this book analyzing the five Best Picture nominees of 1967, including Bonnie and Clyde and The Graduate, as a study of the New Hollywood revolution.Hell or High Water — Mario cites this film (starring Chris Pine and Jeff Bridges) as an example of a Transmitting Three narrative where characters rob banks to strike back at institutions that have wronged their family, without harming ordinary people.Badlands — Mario emphasizes the parallel between Bonnie and Clyde and Terrence Malick's Badlands, noting both are Transmitting Three narratives but with different energies and sensibilities.Bonnie and Clyde (1967) — The episode's subject film, directed by Arthur Penn and starring Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway, explores aspiration, notoriety, and the hunger to be known during the Great Depression.Related resourcesHow to Think Well, and Why: The Awareness to Action Guide — Mario Sikora — Mario's foundational text on the Enneagram and the Awareness to Action framework, offering deeper study of the subtypes and growth paths discussed in this episode.Awareness to Action Enneagram Podcast — The official podcast for the Awareness to Action framework, featuring Mario Sikora and guests exploring Enneagram theory and its applications.Mentioned in this episode:Awareness to Action Podcast NetworkPodcast Network

Annie Savoy picks one player each season to develop—not for sex, but to feel needed and connected. Mario, TJ Dawe, and TJ Ingrassia track how the Transmitting Two builds intimacy by becoming essential to someone else's success, and what breaks when she meets someone who won't cooperate.Mario Sikora, TJ Dawe, and TJ Ingrassia examine Annie Savoy in Bull Durham (1988) as a Transmitting Two. Annie invests her knowledge, attention, and sexuality into one young player each season, banking on his improvement to prove her value and secure connection. The hosts trace her core move—striving to feel connected by transmitting things that cost her: sexuality, gifts, superstitions, knowledge. They map the handicap principle (why her gifts signal resources) and contrast her with a Preserving Two, who would hold back. They analyze her eye contact, her seduction of Crash through refusal, how her luck supposedly transfers to Nuke's pitching. The episode also includes Transmitting Twos from other films: Waymond in Everything Everywhere All at Once, Penny Lane in Almost Famous, and Rupert Pupkin in The King of Comedy.Chapters0:00:00 A Different Kind of Groupie0:04:43 Annie's Season: The Setup0:14:02 Striving to Connect—The Two-ish Pattern0:30:56 The Cost of Transmitting0:45:26 Seduction and Mystery as Strategy1:01:01 A Preserving Two Would NeverResources mentioned in this episodeBull Durham — The 1988 romantic comedy written and directed by Ron Shelton that serves as the focus film for this episode's exploration of the Transmitting Two.The Handicap Principle — Amotz Zahavi — Referenced by Mario to explain how costly signals—like the peacock's tail—communicate fitness and resources, paralleling Annie's transmitting behavior through jewelry and sexuality.Awareness to Action Enneagram Podcast — The parent podcast in the Awareness to Action network, where listeners can explore more on Enneagram instinctual subtypes and type dynamics.Thinking Well and Why Podcast — Mario Sikora's companion podcast on clear thinking skills and the Enneagram, available on YouTube and podcast platforms.How to Think Well, and Why: The Awareness to Action Guide — Mario Sikora — Mario's foundational text on the Awareness to Action Enneagram framework and clear thinking principles.Related resourcesAwareness to Action Enneagram on Demand — The official on-demand learning platform for the Awareness to Action Enneagram framework, offering courses and modules on instinctual subtypes and type dynamics.Mario Sikora — Mario's official site with articles, resources, and information on the Awareness to Action approach to the Enneagram.Mentioned in this episode:Awareness to Action Podcast NetworkPodcast Network

In this episode of The Enneagram in a Movie podcast, Mario Sikora, TJ Dawe and TJ Ingrassia examine the Preserving Three through Layer Cake, the 2004 crime thriller starring Daniel Craig as X, a cocaine distributor planning his exit. X runs a cocaine operation in London like it's a business – clean, efficient, and built for early retirement. Unlike the Transmitting Three chasing recognition, X stays methodical. He builds rules, manages relationships carefully, avoids violence and flashy moves and prioritizes staying solvent. His cool distance masks something deeper, not deception but a disconnect from real self-expression, hidden behind professionalism. But when that job ends, they have nothing left. The three hosts discuss how a Preserving Three needs the system more than the system needs him.Chapters0:00:00 The Layers of Life0:01:04 A Serious, Measured Take0:06:27 Into the Double Cross0:17:43 Three Rules and Process0:34:18 The Preserving Pattern0:47:49 Navigators and ComparisonsConnect with us:Awareness to ActionEnneagram on DemandThe Awareness to Action Enneagram PodcastMario Sikora:IG: @mariosikoraTikTok: @mariosikoraWeb: mariosikora.comSubstack: mariosikora.substack.comBook: How to Think Well, and Why: The Awareness to Action Guide to Clear ThinkingTJ Dawe:Web: tjdawe.caTJ Ingrassia:Web: tjingrassia.comYouTube: @TypeCastMentioned in this episode:Awareness to Action Podcast NetworkPodcast Network

In this episode of The Enneagram in a Movie podcast, Mario Sikora, TJ Dawe and TJ Ingrassia talk about the 1993 film, Six Degrees of Separation, starring Will Smith and Stockard Channing. Paul, played by Smith, cons his way into Manhattan's upper crust by absorbing elite codes of conduct. But Ouisa, played by Channing, and Flan Kittredge, played by Donald Sutherland, were born into money and are doing the same thing, just more smoothly. The three hosts examine how Navigating Threes constantly refine their map of how to fit in, why their sense of self depends on external validation and what it means to strive for belonging without losing standing. They also unpack the film's treatment of authenticity, class consciousness and duality.“Authenticity is a big theme in this – speaking of Type Three, and exactly what you’re talking about – of like who are we really and who’s the version of us that we present to the world.” - TJ Dawe [25:53]“Let’s keep in mind that the Navigating instinctual bias, again, I don’t call it social, because it’s not about being part of the group. It’s not about wanting to be with people, all this sort of stuff. It’s about understanding group dynamics and where I fit in.” - Mario [29:34]“Is the Three the ultimate navigator? Because even a Preserving or a Transmitting, in some ways, is still ‘Navigating.’” - TJ Ingrassia [46:26]TIMESTAMPS[00:03] Intro[00:38] Thoughts on this week’s movie[03:58] About Six Degrees of Separation[06:04] The movie as Navigating Three[12:52] Striving to Feel Outstanding in the film[20:28] Threes find ways to accomplish things[25:53] Who are we really?[29:34] Understanding group dynamics[34:33] Creating a sense of self[38:40] A series of stories[43:58] The Navigating Three[46:26] Is the Three the ultimate Navigator?[50:30] Awareness to social obligations[55:08] The children's anger[59:10] Other characters’ Enneagram types[1:02:07] Paul as other subtypes[1:04:43] Other Navigating ThreesConnect with us:Awareness to ActionEnneagram on DemandThe Awareness to Action Enneagram PodcastMario Sikora:IG: @mariosikoraTikTok: @mariosikoraWeb: mariosikora.comSubstack: mariosikora.substack.comBook: How to Think Well, and Why: The Awareness to Action Guide to Clear ThinkingTJ Dawe:Web: tjdawe.caTJ Ingrassia:Web: tjingrassia.comYouTube: @TypeCastMentioned in this episode:Awareness to Action Podcast NetworkPodcast Network

In this episode of The Enneagram in a Movie podcast, Mario Sikora, TJ Dawe and TJ Ingrassia talk the Navigating Two through the film, Everything Everywhere All at Once. Waymond – played by Ke Huy Quan appears twice in this movie – once quiet and devoted and the other confident and leading – but both versions feel the need to feel connected, to be needed and to matter.Connect with us:Awareness to ActionEnneagram on DemandThe Awareness to Action Enneagram PodcastMario Sikora:IG: @mariosikoraTikTok: @mariosikoraWeb: mariosikora.comSubstack: mariosikora.substack.comBook: How to Think Well, and Why: The Awareness to Action Guide to Clear ThinkingTJ Dawe:Web: tjdawe.caTJ Ingrassia:Web: tjingrassia.comYouTube: @TypeCastMentioned in this episode:Awareness to Action Podcast NetworkPodcast Network

In this episode of The Enneagram in a Movie podcast, Mario Sikora, TJ Dawe and TJ Ingrassia talk about the Preserving Two through the film, WALL-E. The film is nearly wordless, yet serves as a study in striving to feel connected.Connect with us:Awareness to ActionEnneagram on DemandThe Awareness to Action Enneagram PodcastMario Sikora:IG: @mariosikoraTikTok: @mariosikoraWeb: mariosikora.comSubstack: mariosikora.substack.comBook: How to Think Well, and Why: The Awareness to Action Guide to Clear ThinkingTJ Dawe:Web: tjdawe.caTJ Ingrassia:Web: tjingrassia.comYouTube: @TypeCastMentioned in this episode:Awareness to Action Podcast NetworkPodcast Network

In this episode of The Enneagram in a Movie podcast, Mario Sikora, TJ Dawe and TJ Ingrassia examine Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey through the Transmitting Eight subtype. They discuss how the three-hour epic captures this subtype’s gift for action and what it blinds him to, focusing on Odysseus as a strategist whose mastery of manipulation hides a wound. They also reference Michael Goldberg's Travels with Odysseus, which maps Homer's nine stops to Enneagram's nine points, and ask what happens when you force a fit.Connect with us:Awareness to ActionEnneagram on DemandThe Awareness to Action Enneagram PodcastMario Sikora:IG: @mariosikoraTikTok: @mariosikoraWeb: mariosikora.comSubstack: mariosikora.substack.comBook: How to Think Well, and Why: The Awareness to Action Guide to Clear ThinkingTJ Dawe:Web: tjdawe.caTJ Ingrassia:Web: tjingrassia.comYouTube: @TypeCastMentioned in this episode:Awareness to Action Podcast NetworkPodcast Network

In this episode of The Enneagram in a Movie podcast, Mario Sikora, TJ Dawe and TJ Ingrassia discuss the Navigating Four through Richard Linklater’s film, Boyhood, which was filmed over 12 years with the same cast. It captures the Navigating Four’s ability to fit into different worlds without losing who you are. Mason works through observation instead of dramatic self-expression. The navigation is constant – new towns, stepfathers, friend groups, conservative grandparents, – yet his core stays intact. The hosts also trace how Linklater's entire filmography (Slackers, the Before trilogy) keeps returning to this Navigating Four blend of introspection, observation, and adaptive fluency.Connect with us:Awareness to ActionEnneagram on DemandThe Awareness to Action Enneagram PodcastMario Sikora:IG: @mariosikoraTikTok: @mariosikoraWeb: mariosikora.comSubstack: mariosikora.substack.comBook: How to Think Well, and Why: The Awareness to Action Guide to Clear ThinkingTJ Dawe:Web: tjdawe.caTJ Ingrassia:Web: tjingrassia.comYouTube: @TypeCastMentioned in this episode:Awareness to Action Podcast NetworkPodcast Network

In this episode of The Enneagram in a Movie podcast, Mario Sikora, TJ Dawe and TJ Ingrassia discuss the Transmitting Four through Julie Taymor's Frida, starring Salma Hayek.Connect with us:Awareness to ActionEnneagram on DemandThe Awareness to Action Enneagram PodcastMario Sikora:IG: @mariosikoraTikTok: @mariosikoraWeb: mariosikora.comSubstack: mariosikora.substack.comBook: How to Think Well, and Why: The Awareness to Action Guide to Clear ThinkingTJ Dawe:Web: tjdawe.caTJ Ingrassia:Web: tjingrassia.comYouTube: @TypeCastMentioned in this episode:Awareness to Action Podcast NetworkPodcast Network

In this episode of The Enneagram in a Movie podcast, Mario Sikora, TJ Dawe and TJ Ingrassia talk about Green Book through Dr. Donald Shirley, the concert pianist played by Mahershala Ali. Dr. Shirley is a Preserving Four that uses refinement as a barrier, not a bridge. They discuss how a Preserving Four can build such an elegant prison that even when someone offers them a way out, they hesitate to leave.Connect with us:Awareness to ActionEnneagram on DemandThe Awareness to Action Enneagram PodcastMario Sikora:IG: @mariosikoraTikTok: @mariosikoraWeb: mariosikora.comSubstack: mariosikora.substack.comBook: How to Think Well, and Why: The Awareness to Action Guide to Clear ThinkingTJ Dawe:Web: tjdawe.caTJ Ingrassia:Web: tjingrassia.comYouTube: @TypeCastMentioned in this episode:Awareness to Action Podcast NetworkPodcast Network