{{use mdy dates|date=January 2014}} {{Infobox film | name = Craigslist Joe | image = Craigslist Joe - poster.jpg | alt = A young man facing away from the viewer, wearing a backpack and a jacket. The ground beneath him is the Craigslist website interface, and a city skyline is in the background. | caption = | director = Joseph Garner<ref name="Tobias">{{cite web|url=http://www.avclub.com/review/craigslist-joe-83562|title=Craigslist Joe|last=Tobias|first=Scott|date=August 9, 2012|work=The A.V. Club|access-date=January 23, 2014}}</ref> | producer = Eve Marson Singbiel, Joseph Garner, Angelique Sheppard<ref name="Harvey" /> | writer = | story = | starring = Joseph Garner | music = David G. Garner<ref name="Harvey">{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2012/film/reviews/craigslist-joe-1117947989/|title=Review: 'Craigslist Joe'|last=Harvey|first=Dennis|date=August 2, 2012|work=Variety|access-date=January 23, 2014}}</ref> | cinematography = Kevin Flint<ref name="Tobias" /> | editing = Drew Kilcoin<ref name="Harvey" /> | studio = | distributor = | released = {{Film date|2012|08|03}}<ref name="DeFore">{{cite web|url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com//review/craigslist-joe-film-358232|title=Craigslist Joe: Film Review|last=DeFore|first=John|date=August 3, 2012|work=The Hollywood Reporter|access-date=January 23, 2014}}</ref> | runtime = 90 min. | country = United States | language = English | budget = | gross = }}

'''''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.<ref name="Kelly">{{cite web|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/02/craigslist-joe-movie_n_1643949.html|title='Craigslist Joe' Movie: Man Lives Off Craigslist Ads For A Month (VIDEO)|last=Kelly|first=Tara|date=July 2, 2012|work=The Huffington Post|access-date=January 23, 2014}}</ref> He spent the month without using any form of currency and without contacting people he already knew,<ref name="Travis">{{cite web|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/global-yodel/craigslist-joe_b_4110814.html|title=You Shouldn't Want to Be an Aspiring Anything: An Interview With Craigslist Joe|last=Travis|first=Helen Anne|date=October 18, 2013|work=The Huffington Post|access-date=January 23, 2014}}</ref> relying on Craigslist users' "kindness and generosity".<ref name="DeFore" /><ref name="Murphy">{{cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/blogs/entertainment/2012/07/behind-the-scenes-with-craigslist-joe/|title=Behind the Scenes with 'Craigslist Joe'|last=Murphy|first=Eliza|date=July 3, 2012|work=ABC News|access-date=January 23, 2014}}</ref>

==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'': <blockquote>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?<ref name="Murphy" /></blockquote>

Another theme Garner hoped to explore in the film was the effect of social media and other technology on social interactions.<ref name="Orange">{{cite web|url=http://www.movieweb.com/news/exclusive-joseph-garner-talks-craigslist-joe|title=EXCLUSIVE: Joseph Garner Talks Craigslist Joe|last=Orange|first=B. Alan|date=August 7, 2012|work=MovieWeb|access-date=January 23, 2014}}</ref>

He hired a cameraman, Kevin Flint, via Craigslist a week before beginning his travels in Los Angeles.<ref name="Murphy" /> Flint received a food stipend, so was not completely dependent on Craigslist users.<ref name="Orange" /> 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".<ref name="Murphy" /> 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).<ref name="DeFore" /> 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.<ref name="Orange" />

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."<ref>{{cite AV media |people=Garner, Joseph|year=2012 |title=Craigslist Joe}}</ref>

==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."<ref name="Prindle">{{cite web|url=http://www.digitaltrends.com/movies/craigslist-joe-review/|title=Craigslist Joe Review|last=Prindle|first=Drew|date=August 11, 2012|work=Digital Trends|access-date=January 23, 2014}}</ref> ''Variety''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s Dennis Harvey opined that the movie was shallow and bland.<ref name="Harvey" />

Several critics, including ''The Hollywood Reporter''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s John DeFore, ''Slant Magazine''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s Diego Costa, and ''Village Voice''<nowiki>'</nowiki>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.<ref name="DeFore" /><ref name="Costa">{{cite web|url=http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/craigslist-joe/6416|title=Craigslist Joe|last=Costa|first=Diego|date=July 29, 2012|work=Slant Magazine|access-date=January 23, 2014}}</ref><ref name="Hardy">{{cite web|url=http://www.villagevoice.com/2012-08-01/film/craigslist-joe-film-review/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120804182607/http://www.villagevoice.com/2012-08-01/film/craigslist-joe-film-review/|url-status=dead|archive-date=August 4, 2012|title=Craigslist Joe|last=Hardy|first=Ernest|date=August 1, 2012|work=The Village Voice|access-date=January 23, 2014}}</ref><ref name="Pontinelli">{{cite web|url=http://vancouverweekly.com/craigslist-joe-is-more-awkward-than-not/|title=Craigslist Joe is More Awkward Than Not|last=Pontinelli|first=Michaela|date=March 1, 2013|work=Vancouver Weekly|access-date=January 23, 2014}}</ref>

== References == {{Reflist|2}}

==External links== *{{official website|http://www.craigslistjoe.com/}} *{{IMDb title|1486616}}

Category:2012 documentary films Category:2012 films Category:American documentary films Category:Craigslist Category:Documentary films about the Internet Category:Films about social media Category:2012 English-language films Category:2012 American films Category:English-language documentary films