Shia LaBeouf has plagiarised his apology for plagiarising his short film.
The Beouf made waves yesterday when it turned out his acclaimed short film, 'HowardCantour.com', was an uncredited and almost word-for-word adaptation of 'Ghost World' cartoonist Daniel Clowes' 2007 comic 'Justin M. Damiano'.
Perhaps realising that this was one trap Optimus Prime couldn't save him from, LaBeouf issued a series of tweets to apologise for his shameless theft.
Copying isn't particularly creative work. Being inspired by someone else's idea to produce something new and different IS creative work.
— Shia LaBeouf (@thecampaignbook) December 17, 2013In my excitement and naiveté as an amateur filmmaker, I got lost in the creative process and neglected to follow proper accreditation
— Shia LaBeouf (@thecampaignbook) December 17, 2013Im embarrassed that I failed to credit @danielclowes for his original graphic novella Justin M. Damiano, which served as my inspiration
— Shia LaBeouf (@thecampaignbook) December 17, 2013I was truly moved by his piece of work & I knew that it would make a poignant & relevant short. I apologize to all who assumed I wrote it.
— Shia LaBeouf (@thecampaignbook) December 17, 2013I deeply regret the manner in which these events have unfolded and want @danielclowes to know that I have a great respect for his work
— Shia LaBeouf (@thecampaignbook) December 17, 2013I fucked up.
— Shia LaBeouf (@thecampaignbook) December 17, 2013This apology is a total cop-out — LaBeouf acts as if he created something "new and different" when he did nothing of the sort, and then apologises to "all who assumed" he wrote the short, as if that's a strange assumption to make when the short's only credits read "A Film By Shia LaBeouf" — but that's not even the best part.
The best part is that the first tweet above is plagiarised from a user on Yahoo! Answers. As discovered by Twitter user Andrew Hake, this is what "Lili" had to say about plagiarism four years ago: "Merely copying isn't particularly creative work, though it's useful as training and practice. Being inspired by someone else's idea to produce something new and different IS creative work, and it may even revolutionize the 'stolen' concept."
This is where the true genius of Shia LaBeouf comes into focus. He has revealed himself as an avant garde performance artist, holding a mirror up to the 21st century and challenging us, the audience, with our retweets and Wiki citations, to ask ourselves — is there a point at which you can copy the work of others so much that you, yourself, simply cease to exist?
Can you plagiarise until you disappear?
(Via Wired)
(See, This Is Exactly What Shia's Talking About)
