CASE STUDY

SHIA LABEOUF-a metamodernist or a bored celebrity?

Now, that we have explained the essence of metamodernism it is time to introduce our case
study. For that matter, we will analyse the 'bizarre' and 'weird' behaviour of Shia Labeouf.
Labeouf might be best known for playing the role of Sam Witwicky in three Transformers
movies. Besides his acting career Labeouf can be also considered an internet meme as well as
a performance artist. We will mostly focus on his last two.

Shia started his career as an actor but with time he transformed into a kind of meme artist due
to his unpredictable and unexpected small projects that might seem a total non-sense. Unlike
many celebrities, Shia was not shy of self-mockery, considering the constant struggle of
celebrities to portray a certain persona or image of themselves they created for the public.
When musician Rob Cantor wanted to shoot a music video for his song about a cannibal
called Shia Labeouf, Shia was not only willing to participate but also suggested he would re-
enact the clapping scene from ''Citizen Kane'' (1941).
So how do we know that Shia's eccentricity is not just a self-parody or whether he an
example of a metamodernist artist? As Shia stated himself in an interview: ''I went through an
existential crisis which turned into some kind of exploration''.

His most significant controversy happened when he plagiarized Daniel Clowes' comics
''Justin M. Damiano'' using it as the basis for his short film '' Howard Cantour.com'' (2012).
He received massive backlash from Clowes' fans, so after he was exposed, he needed to
explain himself. He tried to explain his plagiarism as an act of postmodern appropriation,
claiming that he was questioning the idea of authorship and originality, but he didn’t get
away with that, so he had to apologize.

After months of defending himself online, Shia realized that neither clever jokes nor genuine
explanations would be ever good enough. He had to do something to make everybody believe
that he truly was sorry. He needed to be vulnerable: ''I've read this metamodern manifesto
which really touched me'' he said in another interview. And that set the actor as a
metamodern artist. He created his first metamodern artwork titled #IAMSORRY. It was a
performance art installation in Los Angeles where he invited the public to join him in his
misery. Audience members were to enter an almost empty gallery, chose a prop such as a
bottle of Jack Daniels, a Transformers toy, an Indiana Jones whip from a table and sit across
Shia Labeouf himself while he was wearing his infamous paper bag with the words ''I'm not
famous anymore'' on his head. He wanted to show remorse, however delivering the apology
so that the audiences would hold it at a distance, making it not entirely sincere but not
entirely insincere, which is pretty much what holds the basis of metamodernism. It is all the
distance and irony of postmodernism with all the sincerity of a classic narrative. Most people
didn’t understand what they where seeing or what it meant but encountering an apologizing
and crying Shia Labeouf in an LA art gallery encountering a scene that was both sincere and
ironic at the same time gave them a metamodernist experience. Even if many didn't
understand it, they felt it, some people even saying that everyone thinks he is crazy while this
performance is the least crazy thing he ever did; emotionally pouring out the whole time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lg0STVgFYFg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZT1ILaJ9j20

However, it didn’t end with an apology only. More metamodern projects kept being created.
In each case, the performances were both ironic and sincere at the same time. His
#MeditationForNarcissists is an hour-long session where Labeouf jumped rope in front of a
mirror was both self-mocking and truly meditative.
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPRFlJNsoks)

His work entitled #Interview was both a simple-minded stunt and an hour-long exploration
of uncomfortable intimacy. He sits opposite of a person, in complete silence while looking at
each other for an entire hour. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6y_luqW3iog).

His most memeable work #Introductions was meant to be a shallow viral sensation while
simultaneously communicating true feelings.
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqHVMNjP0QA)

#Introductions wasn’t originally meant to be an absurd version of a motivational speech but

was rather a collaboration with film students. Students were asked to submit monologues,
each provoking a feeling and Shia read them in front of a green screen in a very calculated
manner. In this case, like the artwork was both a PR stunt and sincere work at the same time.

And this is exactly what lies in the core of metamodernism. A mix of shallow self-promotion
and intimacy; a process of mixture between something bland and commercial that is then
made uncomfortable. A metamodernist experience is when what is meant to numb you, turns
around, breaks and makes you feel something.

Finally, let's not forget that we live in a cynical world where we think that we can hold ideas
at a distance. And metamodernism agrees with us. It encourages people to be cynical but later
surprises us by making us feel guilty for not taking things more seriously. Thus, Shia Labeouf
wants us to take his artworks seriously, to turn the audience's own cynicism against itself.
And whether we take him seriously or not, it is certain that he is impossible to ignore.
Bibliography
 #TOUCHMYSOUL | LaBeouf, Rönkkö & Turner. (n.d.). #TOUCHMYSOUL |
LaBeouf, Rönkkö & Turner. [online] Available at: http://touchmysoul.net/
 Bastiaanse, R. (2018). Shia LaBeouf’s metamodern subversions of authenticity.
[online] Diggit Magazine. Available at: https://www.diggitmagazine.com/papers/shia-
labeouf-s-metamodern-subversions-authenticity
 Ellis-Petersen, H. (2015). Shia LaBeouf collaborates with London art students on
graduation project. [online] the Guardian. Available at:
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/may/27/shia-labeouf-collaborates-london-art-
students
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybqywjj6O8Y
 Levin, R. (2014). Why Shia LaBeouf's postmodern antics won't save him. [online]
Vanity Fair. Available at: https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2014/01/shia-
labeouf-copyright-infringement
 Martínez, A. (2016). Is Shia LaBeouf A Metamodernist Genius Or A Farce?. [online]
Culturacolectiva.com. Available at: https://culturacolectiva.com/art/is-shia-labeouf-a-
metamodernist-genius