24 Hours on Craigslist (2004)

Informative and Interesting

I bought the documentary to show in my college course about Human Communication on the Internet. The interesting scenes immediately give a sense of what Craig's List is and how it operates. I was surprised that there was no documentary-style information like I expect from a news report. The film simply shows people and what they say about their experiences as they use Craig's list. Some of the scenes are quite entertaining, and the piece is thought-provoking regarding our consumerism.

My students seemed fascinated by the type of people who use the Internet this way. We have much to learn about how people use the Internet. I would think anyone interested in understanding the Internet or who is considering developing an Internet business could gain ideas from this documentary. May 6, 2008

An Interesting Documentary

"24 Hours on Craigslist"

An Interesting Democracy

Amos Lassen

Craigslist is an interesting aspect of our lives. As most of you know Craigslist might just be what is holding urban life together and today many people have a Craigslist story whether it
be selling furniture, renting a apartment, finding a roommate or looking for a quick sexual liaison. But how many of us know who Craig is. The movie shows us that Craig is a giant computer located under the stands at Kezer Stadium, San Francisco.
Michael Gibson, who made this film, used eight camera crews on the morning of August 4, 2003 and filmed people who had posted their needs and desires on Craigslist and then went out and filmed people who responded. Some of the moments are very funny and some are very strange The 50 year old guy who lived with his mom and was searching for a woman who weighed 270 pounds was unbelievable but obviously it was true.
It is impossible to capture the essence of Craigslist on film but this is what we have. Even though we know that the website is not just about aberrant people and those with lewd imaginations, this is what is captured here.
May 5, 2008

:S

An interesting idea for a documentary: What happens in 24-hours on Craigslist? Or at least this is the repeated message on the box, previews, etc. Unfortunately, it's not so much about 24-hours on Craigslist (which could have been kind of awesome) as much as what happens on Craigslist and who the hell Craig is (or isn't). I enjoyed the film enough I finished watching it and couldn't resist the temptation of visiting my local branch of Craigslist. Beyond that though - eh, a bit of a waste of time. June 24, 2007

Good, kind of fun,

It was kind of fun to watch. Not awe inspiring. I bought it mostly because I like the website. But if you like people documentaries, you will like this. If you are a techie looking for more information about craigslist, this movie doesn't have it. It's about the people who use craigslist and not craiglist itself.
February 20, 2007

Pointless Montage of Eccentrics Yields Random User Experiences But Little Real Insight

I understand what director Michael Ferris Gibson is trying to do, but his free-form approach is the first and last inspiration this 2006 documentary has to offer. With the possible exception of "Basic Instinct 2", it might well be the most pointless film I have seen in the last several years. Instead of making a film about how the site works and providing an underlying context for the operation of its unique network of online urban communities, Gibson simply looks at the most eccentric users of the site and spotlights their personalities for comic effect. He has no problem finding oddball characters to fill his self-indulgent tableau, for example, an Ethel Merman impersonator looking to start a 1970's-style power band, a pony-tailed butler for hire, an anal-retentive mother who justifies having six strollers to sell, a heavy-metal chef, a baby brigade of mothers working out at the emptied-out Stonestown Mall, and a man who rents himself out as a husband but has a bigger dream of becoming a rent-a-husband pimp.

The list goes on and on, as each episode is introduced under their appropriate categories on the home page. Eight camera crews were sent out to document all these users on a single day in August 2003, but the problem is that there is neither an organizing (nor an exit) strategy behind all the unrelated, human interest stories. The only points of commonality are the stereotypical and rather unfair images that are conjured up of San Francisco as a magnet for lunatics, and to a lesser degree, the contrived device of making a mystical figure out of founder Craig Newmark, whom many in the film believe does not actually exist. The overabundance of extras on the double-disc 2006 DVD is marginally more interesting than the film itself. On the first disc, there is an intermittently interesting commentary track by Gibson, as well as four featurettes describing various aspects of the site and the cultural phenomenon it represents. The second disc offers over three hours of outtakes, which I frankly couldn't watch for more than a few minutes. For heavy Craigslist users, I'm sure this film holds some interest, but others can skip it without regret. February 13, 2007

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