Craigslist Joe

Last updated

Craigslist Joe
Craigslist Joe - poster.jpg
Directed byJoseph Garner [1]
Produced byEve Marson Singbiel, Joseph Garner, Angelique Sheppard [2]
StarringJoseph Garner
CinematographyKevin Flint [1]
Edited byDrew Kilcoin [2]
Music byDavid G. Garner [2]
Release date
  • August 3, 2012 (2012-08-03)
[3]
Running time
90 min.
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Craigslist Joe is a 2012 documentary film that follows Joseph Garner for a month of travel across the United States, solely supporting himself by contacting people on the website Craigslist. [4] He spent the month without using any form of currency and without contacting people he already knew, [5] relying on Craigslist users' "kindness and generosity". [3] [6]

Contents

History

Garner came up with the concept for the documentary during the Great Recession in 2008, while working as the assistant director for The Hangover :

The country was falling apart around me, people losing their homes, people just out on their own. So I got to thinking: If I lost everything, what would happen? I'd probably be OK, because I have great friends and family. But what if I didn't? [6]

Another theme Garner hoped to explore in the film was the effect of social media and other technology on social interactions. [7]

He hired a cameraman, Kevin Flint, via Craigslist a week before beginning his travels in Los Angeles. [6] Flint received a food stipend, so was not completely dependent on Craigslist users. [7] Garner's only possessions during the 31-day experiment were "a laptop, a new cell phone with a new number he hadn't shared with anyone, a new email address, a passport, toothbrush and the clothes on his back". [6] All meals, shelter, and transportation would be acquired solely from connections he made on Craigslist.

Garner and Flint journeyed across America, visiting many major cities, including New York, Chicago, Tallahassee, New Orleans, Portland, and San Francisco (where he met Craigslist's founder, Craig Newmark). [3] Garner also visited Mexico with one of the connections he made.

Flint recorded 80 hours of footage in their 31 days of travels. The original rough cut of the documentary was 12 hours long, according to Garner. [7]

Upon returning home, Garner was greeted by his parents and closest friends. When asked by his mother how to describe the experience, he can only come up with the word "inspiring". "The generosity, and the stories that they share, and the connections that I've made in one month is so deep." [8]

Reception

Craigslist Joe elicited mixed reactions. Drew Prindle, for Digital Trends , wrote, "The doc definitely has a few flaws, but they are mostly overshadowed by its numerous strengths." [9] Variety 's Dennis Harvey opined that the movie was shallow and bland. [2]

Several critics, including The Hollywood Reporter 's John DeFore, Slant Magazine 's Diego Costa, and Village Voice 's Ernest Hardy, have pointed out that Garner's "experiment" is somewhat "limited", since Garner, "a young, middle-class white man", enjoys social privileges that many impoverished people lack. [3] [10] [11] [12]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flint, Michigan</span> City in Michigan, United States

Flint is the largest city and seat of Genesee County, Michigan, United States. Located along the Flint River, 66 miles (106 km) northwest of Detroit, it is a principal city within the region known as Mid Michigan. At the 2020 census, Flint had a population of 81,252, making it the twelfth largest city in Michigan. The Flint metropolitan area is located entirely within Genesee County. It is the fourth largest metropolitan area in Michigan with a population of 406,892 in 2020. The city was incorporated in 1855.

<i>Roger & Me</i> 1989 film by Michael Moore

Roger & Me is a 1989 American documentary film written, produced, directed by, and starring Michael Moore, in his directorial debut. Moore portrays the regional economic impact of General Motors CEO Roger Smith's action of closing several auto plants in his hometown of Flint, Michigan, reducing GM's employees in that area from 80,000 in 1978 to about 50,000 in 1992. As of August 2015, GM employs approximately 7,200 workers in the Flint area, according to The Detroit News, and 5,000 workers according to MSNBC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Baldwin</span> American actor (born 1963)

William Joseph Baldwin is an American actor. A member of the Baldwin family, he is the second-youngest Baldwin of the four Baldwin brothers. He has starred in the films Flatliners (1990), Backdraft (1991), Sliver (1993), Virus (1999), The Squid and the Whale (2005), Forgetting Sarah Marshall, in which he portrayed himself, and the Netflix show Northern Rescue (2019). Baldwin is married to singer Chynna Phillips.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Man with No Name</span> Film character

The Man with No Name is the antihero character portrayed by Clint Eastwood in Sergio Leone's "Dollars Trilogy" of Italian Spaghetti Western films: A Fistful of Dollars (1964), For a Few Dollars More (1965), and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966). He is recognizable by his poncho, brown hat, tan cowboy boots, fondness for cigarillos, and the fact that he rarely speaks.

<i>Troll 2</i> 1990 film by Claudio Fragasso

Troll 2 is a 1990 Italian-American independent dark fantasy horror film written and directed by Claudio Fragasso, and stars Michael Stephenson, George Hardy, Connie McFarland and Jason Wright.

<i>24 Hours on Craigslist</i> 2004 American documentary film

24 Hours on Craigslist is a 2004 American documentary film that captures the people and stories behind a single day's posts on the classified ad website Craigslist. The film, made with the approval of Craigslist's founder Craig Newmark, is woven from interviews with the site's users, all of whom opted in to be contacted by the production when they submitted their posts on August 4, 2003. The documentary screened in nine film festivals during 2004 and 2005, winning a 'best feature documentary', and played in a limited, self-distributed, theatrical release in 2005 and 2006. The film was released on DVD on April 25, 2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joe Garner</span> English footballer

Joseph Alan Garner is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker for EFL League One side Carlisle United.

Greg Sims is an American entertainment executive, film producer, and writer, best known for his work in independent film and in giving early opportunities to major talent.

craigslist Classified advertisements website

Craigslist is a privately held American company operating a classified advertisements website with sections devoted to jobs, housing, for sale, items wanted, services, community service, gigs, résumés, and discussion forums.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jose Antonio Vargas</span> Filipino-American journalist, immigration activist

Jose Antonio Vargas is a journalist, filmmaker, and immigration rights activist. Born in the Philippines and raised in the United States from the age of twelve, he was part of The Washington Post team that won the Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Reporting in 2008 for coverage of the Virginia Tech shooting online and in print. Vargas has also worked for the San Francisco Chronicle, the Philadelphia Daily News, and The Huffington Post. He wrote, produced, and directed the autobiographical 2013 film Documented, which CNN Films broadcast in June 2014.

Internet homicide refers to killing in which victim and perpetrator met online, in some cases having known each other previously only through the Internet. Also Internet killer is an appellation found in media reports for a person who broadcasts the crime of murder online or who murders a victim met through the Internet. Depending on the venue used, other terms used in the media are Internet chat room killer, Craigslist killer, Facebook serial killer. Internet homicide can also be part of an Internet suicide pact or consensual homicide. Some commentators believe that reports on these homicides have overemphasized their connection to the Internet.

<i>Red</i> (2010 film) Film directed by Robert Schwentke

Red is a 2010 American action comedy film loosely inspired by the DC Comics limited series of the same name. Produced by Di Bonaventura Pictures and distributed by Summit Entertainment, it is the first film in the Red series. Directed by Robert Schwentke and written by Jon Hoeber and Erich Hoeber, it stars Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich, Helen Mirren, Karl Urban and Mary-Louise Parker, alongside Rebecca Pidgeon, Brian Cox, Richard Dreyfuss, Julian McMahon, Ernest Borgnine, and James Remar. Red follows Frank Moses (Willis), a former black-ops agent who reunites with his old team to capture an assassin who has vowed to kill him.

<i>G.I. Joe: Retaliation</i> 2013 film by Jon M. Chu

G.I. Joe: Retaliation is a 2013 American military science fiction action film based on the G.I. Joe toy line. It is the second installment in the G.I. Joe film series and the sequel to G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009). Directed by Jon M. Chu and written by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, the film features an ensemble cast with Lee Byung-hun, Ray Park, Jonathan Pryce, Channing Tatum, and Arnold Vosloo reprising their roles from the previous film, while Luke Bracey and Robert Baker take over the role of Cobra Commander, replacing Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and D. J. Cotrona, Adrianne Palicki, Ray Stevenson, Bruce Willis, and Dwayne Johnson round out the principal cast. In the film, heavy machine gunner Roadblock (Johnson), along with the surviving G.I. Joes, exacts vengeance on Cobra for his intelligence and infantry specialist Duke (Tatum) and their comrades' deaths, after a Pakistan incident involving nuclear warheads in which the Joes become traitors.

<i>The Following</i> 2013 American crime thriller television series

The Following is an American crime thriller television series created by Kevin Williamson, and jointly produced by Outerbanks Entertainment and Warner Bros. Television.

<i>2016: Obamas America</i> 2012 American film

2016: Obama's America is a 2012 American political documentary film and polemic by right-wing author and political commentator Dinesh D'Souza. The film was produced by Doug Sain and Gerald R. Molen. D'Souza and John Sullivan co-directed and co-wrote the film, which is based on D'Souza's book The Roots of Obama's Rage (2010). Through interviews and reenactments, the film compares the similarities of the lives of D'Souza and President Barack Obama as D'Souza alleges that early influences on Obama were affecting his domestic policy decisions.

<i>Generation Iron</i> 2013 American film

Generation Iron is a 2013 American documentary film which follows the world's leading professional bodybuilders as they train and compete for the 2012 Mr. Olympia. Considered to be a spiritual sequel to the 1977 documentary Pumping Iron, the film gives access to the lives of the top seven bodybuilders in the sport, including Phil Heath, Kai Greene, Branch Warren, and Dennis Wolf. The film is narrated by Mickey Rourke, and features appearances by Arnold Schwarzenegger, Lou Ferrigno, and Jay Cutler.

<i>How to Make Money Selling Drugs</i> 2012 American film

How to Make Money Selling Drugs is a documentary film written, directed and narrated by Matthew Cooke and produced by Bert Marcus and Adrian Grenier. The film premiered at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival and was theatrically released in June 2013.

<i>Tricked</i> (film) 2013 American film

Tricked: The Documentary is a 2013 American documentary film directed by John-Keith Wasson and Jane Wells. It documents human sex trafficking, and its presence within the United States, from the perspectives of the victims involved in sex trafficking, the “johns” who pay for the sex and the pimps responsible for instigating the illegal business. It was produced by 3 Generations and distributed by First Run Features in Canada and the United States.

<i>24 Exposures</i> 2013 American film

24 Exposures is a 2013 erotic thriller film written and directed by Joe Swanberg. It stars Adam Wingard as a fetish photographer who becomes involved in a murder mystery and Simon Barrett as the detective who investigates the crime. IFC Midnight distributed it on January 24, 2014, in a limited release and through video on demand.

<i>An Open Secret</i> 2014 documentary film by Amy J. Berg on child sexual abuse in Californias film industry

An Open Secret is a 2014 American documentary film directed by Amy J. Berg exposing child sexual abuse in the film industry in California.

References

  1. 1 2 Tobias, Scott (August 9, 2012). "Craigslist Joe". The A.V. Club . Retrieved January 23, 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Harvey, Dennis (August 2, 2012). "Review: 'Craigslist Joe'". Variety . Retrieved January 23, 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 4 DeFore, John (August 3, 2012). "Craigslist Joe: Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved January 23, 2014.
  4. Kelly, Tara (July 2, 2012). "'Craigslist Joe' Movie: Man Lives Off Craigslist Ads For A Month (VIDEO)". The Huffington Post . Retrieved January 23, 2014.
  5. Travis, Helen Anne (October 18, 2013). "You Shouldn't Want to Be an Aspiring Anything: An Interview With Craigslist Joe". The Huffington Post . Retrieved January 23, 2014.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Murphy, Eliza (July 3, 2012). "Behind the Scenes with 'Craigslist Joe'". ABC News . Retrieved January 23, 2014.
  7. 1 2 3 Orange, B. Alan (August 7, 2012). "EXCLUSIVE: Joseph Garner Talks Craigslist Joe". MovieWeb . Retrieved January 23, 2014.
  8. Garner, Joseph (2012). Craigslist Joe.
  9. Prindle, Drew (August 11, 2012). "Craigslist Joe Review". Digital Trends . Retrieved January 23, 2014.
  10. Costa, Diego (July 29, 2012). "Craigslist Joe". Slant Magazine . Retrieved January 23, 2014.
  11. Hardy, Ernest (August 1, 2012). "Craigslist Joe". The Village Voice . Retrieved January 23, 2014.
  12. Pontinelli, Michaela (March 1, 2013). "Craigslist Joe is More Awkward Than Not". Vancouver Weekly . Retrieved January 23, 2014.