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Lauren Mosher
ENG102
Professor Williams
6 November 2014
What Went Wrong
A Rhetorical Analysis of the Movie The Pacifier - Feministic Perspective, written by
Candice Yeboah, shares the authors opinion of how movies in todays society depict the gender
roles of men and women and the specific roles that each are expected to fill. According to
Yeboah, from a feministic perspective, The Pacifier, a Walt Disney Pictures film released in
2005, describes women as being reliant on men and providing care for the children, whereas men
are described as protecting of women and being in complete control in most situations. The
authors rhetorical analysis provides specific examples presented in the film to support her claim
that The Pacifier challenges the status quo of gender roles in society today.
Yeboah introduces her analysis by describing and outlining the events that occur within
the movie. A man named Vin Diesel is introduced as Lieutenant Shane Wolfe who is on a
mission to save a man by the name of Howard Plummer from a group of Serbian rebels. This
group of Serbian rebels is specifically after Plummers classified documents for the government.
Unfortunately, Wolfe is hospitalized as a result of the aftermath of his mission. Due to Wolfes
failure to complete his mission, Plummer is killed during a deadly encounter. According to the
author, Wolfe is assigned to protect Plummers family of five children after having been
hospitalized for two months. The author makes it clear that Wolfe is responsible for the wellbeing of the children while their mother, Mrs. Plummer, is away. Upon the return of the
childrens mothers arrival, tow ninjas who reveal themselves Mr. and Mrs. Chun as neighbors of
the family, take the children hostage in search of their fathers government project by invading

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the house. Mr. and Mrs. Chun eventually discover Mr. Plummers vault where the project was
stored, but end up being knocked out by Wolfe and the childrens school principal, Claire
Fletcher. The author states the significance and irony of women who end up saving the day
instead of Wolfe having done so during this scene.
Male figures in films are typically perceived as being the one who exhibits more strength,
control, and manipulation than a female figure would. The author continues her analysis by
describing Wolfes masculinity, power, and strength due to being a Lieutenant in the US Navy
Seals. Wolfe is identified by the audience as the hero, or the good guy of the film for fearlessly
executing the mission and risking his life by taking a bullet for Mr. Plummer. The author
mentions that although Wolfe is perceived as the ideal man, Wolfes character in the film
bends hegemony as he takes on the role of the caregiver of the Plummer children, which is
typically filled by a female figure. Yeboah continues her claim by stating that Wolfe has
accepted his role not only as the protector of the family, but as the caregiver and mother figure of
the family while the childrens biological mother is away. Wolfe maintains his masculinity as he
spends time with the children but also displays feminine characteristics. The author explains that
it would be difficult for the male audience of this film to connect and identify themselves with
Wolfes position as mommy because it is a feminine role although Wolfe attempts to maintain
his masculinity despite the situation.
Furthermore, Mr. Plummers second oldest son, Seth, also bends the rules of masculine
hegemony. Seth Plummer is described as having an average build and is referred to as the outcast
student who is constantly bullied by other boys at his school. Initially, Seth is a member of his
schools wrestling team but decides to quit and join his schools musical, The Sound of Music,
instead. Yeboah explains that Seths decision to join his school musical rather than continue to

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wrestle is against masculine hegemony. In addition, the author suggests that the young male
audience of The Pacifier view Seths character as undesirable.
The authors purpose in writing this piece was to inform her audience of her opinion of
the impact movies have on societys view of the roles of males and females. Lieutenant Shane
Wolfe and Seth Plummer exhibit both masculine and feminine roles throughout the film in the
authors opinion. The Pacifier, according to Candice Yeboah, provides messages that challenge
the status quo of gender roles in society that are not necessarily unfamiliar or strange in todays
society.
The author of this piece, A Rhetorical Analysis of the Movie The Pacifier Feministic
Perspective, Candice Yeboah, poorly structures her analysis with a format that is
unrecognizable. For example, Yeboah displays inconsistent spacing throughout her paper, does
not include a proper heading, neglects to indent each paragraph and include page numbers, and
incorrectly formats and cites her sources. Typically, essays are written by following an APA or
MLA format, both of which Yeboah fails to follow correctly and consistently.
In addition to poorly structuring the format of her analysis, Yeboah poorly structures her
thoughts which appear unorganized and unclear. Yeboah does not display clear and smooth
transitions between her thoughts which make it difficult for the reader to understand the content
sufficiently. For example, Yeboah explains that when Wolfe arrives to the Plummer residence,
he is greeted by five children and their nanny Helga. Yeboah then continues in the next sentence
to explain that Wolfe has to babysit the children due to the absence of their nanny (p.1).
Personally, this transition was confusing because the author did not provide explanation for
Helgas absence. If the author provided more information about the events in the movie, it would
be less challenging to comprehend what she has written.

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Because there is a lack of providing sufficient information about the events and details of
the movie, Yeboah fails to write for a specific audience. For a reader who has never seen The
Pacifier, it was incredibly difficult for me to understand the authors thoughts because she
lacked providing enough information about the movie for me to do so. The author assumes that
her audience has previously seen the movie The Pacifier. For example, the author unexpectedly
introduces a character, Clarie Fletcher, without having done so previously or continuing to
provide more information about her and her significance (p.1).
In addition to the lack of targeting a specific audience, Yeboah uses poor and
inappropriate word choice, conventions, and grammar when she attempts to inform the reader of
the film. For example, Yeboahs statement, they see it as gay that Seth had quit the manly
sport of wrestling, to be part of a musical play (p.3) displays the authors use of inappropriate
language and lack of proper grammar. The author could have used a more appropriate and less
offensive term to describe Seth Plummers character. Also, the authors improper grammar does
not provide clarity to her analysis and is difficult to understand. It is important to include proper
word choice and grammar to intrigue your audience to continue to read.
The purpose of Candice Yeboahs A Rhetorical Analysis of the Movie The Pacifier
Feministic Perspective is to address todays societys stereotypical views of the roles of females
and males. The intended purpose of this analysis was also to inform readers about the movie and
to persuade readers that although gender norms do exist within our society, it is not uncommon
to not confide to these stereotypical views that men and women do not need to stricly follow or
have specific roles.
The authors lack of organization, structure, and clear intentions make her analysis
ineffective, incomplete, and unpolished. This could have been avoided by taking simple steps

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such as proofreading, revising, and providing more information about the film to the audience.
Had the author taken these steps to better her work, Yeboahs unrecognizable format, poor word
choice and conventions, grammatical errors, and unclear intended audience would not have been
present and detectable within her analysis.