Director Joseph Garner is the subject of his own documentary called Craigslist Joe, in which he attempts to answer the question: can somebody survive for a month using only the support of a community of kind folks found only through Craigslist? Yes, it’s another stunt doc inspired by the likes of Supersize Me, No Impact Man, My Date With Drew, and many others. I can’t say I’m the biggest fan of this brand of documentary, so here’s hoping Craigslist Joe manages to avoid collapsing under the weight of its own gimmick (like many of these films do). Here’s the synopsis:
In a time when America’s economy and sense of community were crumbling, one guy left everything behind–to see if he could survive solely on the support of the 21st century’s new town square: Craigslist. It was in this climate that 29-year-old Joseph Garner cut himself off from everyone he knew and everything he owned, to embark on a bold adventure. Armed with only a laptop, cell phone, toothbrush, and the clothes on his back–alongside the hope that community was not gone but just had shifted–Joseph began his journey. For 31 December days and nights, everything in his life would come from the Craigslist website. From transportation to food, from shelter to companionship, Joe would depend on the generosity of people who had never seen him and whose sole connection to him was a giant virtual swap meet. Would America help Joe? Could he survive with nothing, apart from the goodwill of others?
The film is ‘presented by’ Zach Galifianakis and hits theatres and iTunes on August 2nd. Check out the trailer and leave your comments!
“Stunt” docs of a sort have a proud tradition, if you take it back as far as Jean Rouch and his “verite” films of the 50s and 60s. Films like Chronicle of a Summer tried to force the truth out through contrived situations. A type of stunt, for sure. With Rouch, it worked.
Where films like Spurlock’s — and maybe this one — fall apart is the intense focus on the filmmaker as the central character. There are some great first-person films out there too, but there is something crass about the way some (mainly American) doc makers craft these stunt docs, starring themselves. There seems to be no real attempt at self-examination, or examination of anyone at all. Instead the “craziness” of the stunt becomes the fixation, and the filmmaker/star’s ability to act and mug for the camera often trumps any real truth-telling. Entertaining? Sure. But these kind of docs usually leave me pretty unfulfilled.
There are exceptions too. Renzo Martens’ provocative film Enjoy Poverty is very first-person, and very much a stunt film. But a different animal given Martens’ conceptual art background (plus, you know, he’s European). He got about the most visceral negative reaction I’ve seen at a Hot Docs Q&A a few years back, but was also one of the few films in recent years that made me think hard about what I was seeing.
Also, is this film sponsored by Craig’s List or what?