User reviews

I really want to give this more stars because it explores the trafficking situation really well, however, there is no explanation as to WHY the other side is fighting against allowing speech censorship on the internet. Internet freedom of speech is a dissertation unto itself- it is not a simple black/white issue. I think pretending the other side had no argument (just "greedy & evil") was an oversimplification. Some of the speakers were part of the Village Voice. I have no doubt that those journalists had informed opinions on the topic that were simply edited out of the film.

By concentrating on child sex trafficking, the film sidesteps the issue of the mass marketing of women (and young men) in general by traffickers who admit that their main tools are drug addiction and violence. That this is considered in anyway part of 'freedom' in America is nauseating. Village Voice is just one of numerous weekly urban free newspapers that get the BULK of their revenue from very expensive and extensive ads for prostitutes, S&M dungeons, sexual massage parlors etc. They throw in a few 'serious articles and listings for restaurants etc. but the 'soul' of the Village Voice and all the other such papers nationwide is PIMPING. That is the main gripe I have with this film is that they celebrate the 'venerable' liberal paper which has sunk to peddling sex for profit.

I have totally no idea how an advanced country like USA allowing 'legalised' Abastenia St. Leger Eberle under their watch by giving certain webpage.com to hide behind CDA s230 . Its still happening now and right under those politicians freaking ivory towers . Ask yourself did you vote for them to misrepresenting you ? Do you think any sort of $$ lobbying is going to affect your loved ones negatively when bad things happened ?

The epic battle that several American mothers are waging on behalf of their middle-school daughters, victims of sex trafficking on Backpage.com, the adult classifieds section that for years was part of the iconic Village Voice.

Not to sound insensitive, but I did not find the part of this film about trafficking all that interesting. In fact, it was largely glossed over. The girls were not kidnapped and could have gone home at any time. A more interesting question would be why this lifestyle appealed to them. Not to excuse the pimps by any means, but what more can we do at home to prevent girls from thinking this is a wise choice? But I did find the issues about the legality of running such a website quite interesting. After seeing the film, I went to the website and sure enough it is incredibly obvious that the "escorts" and "massage parlors" listed are fake. There was nothing quite as explicit as the film showed, and nothing suggesting underage women... but despite that, it was apparent that if Backpage wanted to remove such content, it would be really, really easy to police. So why do they not do it?

I AM JANE DOE is assaulting to any viewer. It revolts and disgusts any average audience, and it does so intentionally. Just look at the subject matter, and you can see why so many people seem to have a problem with accepting this film. The repeated rape and sale of children is a disgusting notion, one that cuts a person to the core. When I used to think about human trafficking, I always thought of it like in the movie "Taken". It happens to "dumb" people over seas. It doesn't effect me, or my life, at all. Watching this documentary rips apart that false assumption. Any American child, no matter their race, gender, sexuality, or socioeconomic status is at risk to be repeatedly raped and sold. That is abhorrent in every sense. It is the destruction of innocence, the eradication of futures. And it could happen to anyone. That is a terrifying concept.

What I AM JANE DOE does so well is aim those natural human emotions of confusion and disgust and rage on the broken system that allows for the insane profit off of the sale of children. There seems to be many comments so far about how viewers were disappointed that there was no happy ending in this film. That there wasn't a "fix" that was found to child sex trafficking. And it seems that those same people were also upset over the specific targeting of Backpage.com. I couldn't disagree with these comments more, as I thought the film handled this tactfully. It carefully and clearly exposed not only the injustice in our legal system for allowing Backpage.com to continue to profit off of the sale of children, but also carefully handled the horrific experiences these children went through, giving their trauma justice without spinning off down the rabbit hole to a depressing story about each different graphic instance of a child being sold for sex. Instead, I AM JANE DOE specifically focuses on the legal efforts to take away the ease in ability to profit off of the sale of children with the goal of a unification of efforts. Instead of having a single lawyer stand up for three girls in Seattle, and a law firm in Boston mounting its own case- I AM JANE DOE has encouraged the combination of efforts and collaboration between lawyers and activists and every day Americans in a universal call for change. Yes, this film does not offer a permanent solution to prostitution- because there is no magic pill to fix this- instead, the film offers a route to take for the ordinary citizen who is motivated to fight this, and exposes the lack of morals present in far too many technology companies that are willing to write off the sale of thousands of American children every year as collateral damage in their search for higher profits.

I AM JANE DOE calls for a change in the way we treat the internet. It demands a revolution against these companies that have so little regard for human life. It is already proving to be a catalyst, creating an avenue for true bipartisan politics, in both the House of Representatives and in the Senate (led by Senators McCain, Portman, Heitkamp, and McCaskill - outspoken leaders in both the Democratic and Republican parties), to amend the loophole that allows websites to profit off of rape with impunity.

Starting this documentary, I was angry. I was disgusted. I was revolted. I felt sick to my stomach knowing that one day this could happen to my children. This could happen to my best friend, my family, my neighbors. That knowledge made me full of sadness and rage. By the end of the film however, my thoughts had changed. I am now motivated. I have seen the power of a single voice standing up to massive corporations and unfair laws. Imagine what all our voices could do? I am determined to stand up for the hundreds of thousands of children who cannot stand up for themselves. I will Speak Out. I will Fight Back. Will You?

Fantastic film that opened my eyes through the horrors of Backpage.com and the child sex trafficking industry in this country. So rarely do you see a documentary this raw and honest come out with the full intention of doing good. I have seen this movie twice: once myself and a second time with my family, and it doesn't get easier. But, it does inspire me to join the fight and help in whatever way I can. To me, that is the greatest signifier of a well-made film.

I was quite disturbed by this documentary, and not for the reasons you would think. This documentary is a bait & switch, plain and simple. As someone else stated, it should really be called "the war on Backpage." This is a plaintiff advocacy piece masquerading as an informative documentary on a sensitive topic. The makers of this should be absolutely ashamed of themselves. They basically exploit a serious topic so that they can drive home a narrative on a tangentially related subject, which of course is Backpage.com and prostitution.

This documentary is not about sex trafficking; It is about Backpage.com. That's it. Sex trafficking is just and example used to support their thesis. Every once in a while they will give a brief summary of the story of someone who was a victim of sex trafficking, but that is just to pull at your heartstrings. It's a distraction. If you wanted to make a documentary about Backpage and prostitution, it is possible to do so without logical fallacies, distractions, and a one-sided narrative. This documentary is not fair to backpage or the subject that it is addressing.

I am an engineer who has taken formal training on root cause analysis and corrective action. Backpage is not the problem. It is the intermediary. If you want to address the problem you have to be honest about it. Prostitution is one of the worlds oldest professions, and it isn't going away. Declaring war on it and the vehicles that are used to engage in it will not solve your problem. Banning things like Backpage will serve one purpose - making social justice warriors feel vindicated.

Be careful people. There is a war going on for your mind, and it's easy to find yourself a victim of propaganda if you don't know how to spot logical fallacies. Be vigilant in your quest for information.

So it actually took awhile for me to get around to watching "I am Jane Doe." I missed the window where the film was in theaters and there weren't any other screenings near me. I finally got to watch it on Netflix a couple weeks ago and I'm so glad I did.

This film is eyeopening. It left me angry, heartbroken, and itching to get involved in the fight against human trafficking. The fact that this happens right under our noses, in our very neighborhoods, should enrage everyone. And the absence of justice against Backpage, even with a damning Senate report, is unbelievable.

Watch this. It's so important.

I don't understand why no one tells the story of the girls and what exactly happened to them. All of the focus is on Backpage, and absolutely nothing about who kidnapped the girls, where they were kept, who 'looked after' them etc. Of course them being advertised on Backpage is wrong, but I do not understand why the whole documentary is about a website they were advertised on instead of the bigger network they were taken into. Some details on their lives as trafficked girls would have been more insightful, rather than court battles against a website, which I doubt is the only place they were sold at.

Wow. Blown away by both the content and the presentation. This documentary brings necessary clarity to an issue that has been so sanitized in our society that it has gone largely overlooked. The videography is beautiful, and the editing and pacing kept me engaged the whole time. One of the main things I got from the film is that Backpage is the "Walmart" of human trafficking- meaning that the website makes it easy for your average consumer to access underage victims of child sex trafficking that have been advertised by pimps on the site as willing prostitutes. This mass accessibility (a few clicks, and consumers can just as easily buy a car or furniture on the site) normalizes the crime in society, draws it out from the fringe. One reviewer suggests that removing the vehicles of sex trafficking will not solve the problem, but he/she offers no other solutions or ideas. This is obviously a complicated issue with multiple causes, but limiting access is a KEY part of the solution (and one of the only problems that can be targeted in an effective way). I commend the filmmakers and the courageous women and their mothers in the film for shedding light on that. We should not be the type of society that lets executives earn billions off the repeated rape of children.

I Am Jane Doe has completely changed my perspective on the issue of child sex trafficking within the United States. I have never encountered a film as powerful as this, that manages to simultaneously educate and touch the viewer emotionally. Ever since watching, this issue has been on the forefront of my mind and has facilitated numerous conversations between me and my friends/family.

The film is layered in a way that allows you to absorb as much information as possible in many different forms. The stories of the Jane Does and their mothers adds a personal touch, while the lawsuit presents a more analytical layer and dives to the root of the problem.

This film has the power to make real change in the world. I Am Jane Doe is leading the fight against Backpage and child sex trafficking, through shedding light on a subject that is more often than not left in the dark and labeled "taboo." And perhaps even more importantly, at its very core, this film manages to give a voice to those without one.

This is one ugly documentary. I don't mean ugly for the production value. In terms of visual quality, the documentary is actually quite pleasant. It has relatable images and videos, to tie in to the narration, it has interviews with relevant people, and so on. Where I find this documentary ugly is in the writing. It is called "I am Jane Doe", but it should really be called "The War on Backpage". I went into the documentary under the false description of it being about girls who were sex trafficked. I thought I would hear their stories, their traumas, their pain, their bravery... Thats not what I got at all. What I got was a very, VERY brief summary of 2 girls being lured into the sex trafficking world, but now they're out. Their tale of events were brushed over very quickly, and I don't feel like they were given their spotlight as well as they should have. They seemed to just be ammo for this documentary to fire at Backpage.com

Aside from the aim of the documentary, or what its real purpose is, there is something that seems very fishy about all of the people interviewed. Firstly, there isn't a single person in the documentary who has a normal name. Secondly, the 2 girls who were sex trafficked wouldn't give their name, but were perfectly comfortable giving extremely brief on screen interviews, showing their faces, and also part taking in photo shoots for the doco, giving pouty, and sassy looks, as if they were trying to sell urban clothing. I felt like most of what was shown in the doco was shown for shock value alone. Pictures of questionable images, with things blurred out, but still making it obvious what the context of the picture was. The whole weird video shoot with the kids playing in the snow, to portray innocence. Videos of news reports that were obviously ripped right off YouTube. It all makes me kind've skeptical whether everything you see is genuine. Some things seemed a bit too suspect, and somehow seemed as though clickbait culture, and flashy headlines have now made it into "documenting media".

I'm not downplaying the context at all. The subject of sex trafficking is something that needs to be fixed, but this documentary does not do that. What it does do, is shows you how anyone these days can throw a bunch of clips, and ideas together and call it a documentary. Even an Olympic Athlete, and Lawyer, such as in this documentary.

I'm going to be honest, I didn't know about this issue, let alone this film, until it popped up on my Netflix queue. This film came as a shocker to me. Human trafficking is something that happens in third world countries, not America. The emotion is raw and the facts hit you like a freight train. It's unbelievable that our courts and our Congress have not righted this issue by now. Backpage's actions are blatantly illegal and morally indefensible.

Not only is this documentary well made, but it gets right down into the dirt. It exposes something that needed to be brought to light. "I am Jane Doe" deserves every star.

I just watched this documentary on Netflix and I had to write something about it. The subject matter made me sick to my stomach, but THIS FILM NEEDS TO BE WATCHED. Getting the word out about child sex trafficking and Backpage's horrible sins against humanity is the first step towards fixing the problem. Watch "I am Jane Doe." Share with your friends. Demand action.

10/10 if you want a better world for your children.

My first reaction after watching this film was that I had no idea how widespread this issue was in the US. My second reaction was feeling completely in awe of these survivors of sex trafficking and their mothers and their courage. The film does an excellent job of presenting these tragic stories in a way that empowers the subjects, shows viewers that change is possible, and inspires them to join the fight.

I hope that everyone will have a chance to watch this documentary to understand what is happening in their backyard and learn how to take action to stop it.

This documentary shows a horrific side of American society. Throughout the plot there are stories of individual victims of child sex trafficking. These stories tear you apart inside as you see innocent children turned into merchandise and hear the dehumanizing terrors they have to face. These stories, however are presented along with a way to fight. This film reveals the blatant malice of Backpage.com, so while we see these painful stories we are simultaneously exposed to a legal and political battle. This honest documentary has a spark of hope and a future that we could impact.

Few documentaries have been able to both make me cry and make me feel inspired as this film did. I am Jane Doe is a must watch and will change the way you see prostitution.

This film is a must-watch. Everyone in this country needs to be aware of the widespread national issue of child sex-trafficking and Backpage's role. It is an excellent, avant-guarde, and heart-wrenching documentary. Mary Mazzio does a great job covering the legal technicalities of this issue and calls everyone of us to action against the people trafficking OUR nation's children.

Very rarely does a piece touch and motivate me the way that Mazzio's 'I AM JANE DOE' did. In just a short amount of time, this film managed to change my entire perception of this country, the legal system, and all those suffering without any voice. This film is well crafted and has perfected the art of persuasive storytelling, compelling me to do everything I can to make a change. It is simply eye-opening, how often the information provided by this film comes into play in everyday life. I am constantly educating my colleagues and engaging in meaningful discussions about stimulating change. Hopefully 'I AM JANE DOE' along with Nacole Lynn's petition will facilitate the necessary change that this country must go through.

When I first pressed play, I did not expect I AM JANE DOE to affect me in the way that it has. I had to pause multiple times to collect myself and reason through the horrors that were being portrayed. I am in shock that there is so much violence and ingenuine conduct occurring beneath what we see on the internet.The film is made in such a way where each scene, interview, and story builds you up for heartbreak. However, it simultaneously manages to inspire every viewer to do his or her part in stopping the terrible crime of child sex trafficking. My praises go out to the filmmakers, for giving voices to all the Jane Does and putting the power in the hands of the people.

I was incredibly taken aback by how uneducated and bigoted so many of the people in this movie were. They seem surprised by the fact that bad things happen in America and state that they thought that bad things - like child trafficking - only happen in "foreign" countries. Their stupidity and blatant racism make it really difficult to watch. Additionally, the entire movie focuses on how terrible Backpage.com is, without even having actually talking to a voluntary full service sex worker. These sex workers use things like Backpage to gain clients and without actually speaking to them and having some kind of understanding of this, the movie has absolutely no nuance. The film is incredibly poorly done and really isn't worth the watch if you have any critical eye or any prior understanding of the issues discussed. If you just learnt about child trafficking and sex work yesterday, then maybe this is a good starting point, but otherwise it's a terrible, terrible film.