Shia LaBeouf "direct messaged" me a viewing link and password for his new short two days ago. I watched it and thought it was a rather well-made adaptation of a short Daniel Clowes comic from a few years ago. I refer people to the comic "Justin M. Damiano" when discussing the line between exacting criticism and spiteful snark, especially with regard to online film criticism.
Nothing makes me want to escape a conversation more than dealing with someone not conscious of their desire to have directed the latest movie they've seen having overridden their analysis of how well the movie did what it set out to do. I'm fine with calling out reprehensible gender politics, "phoniness", and unnecessary explicitness (whether violence or anything else, including rampant consumerism). I'm even fine with "they should have done" thus and so, as long as it's conscious and reasoned "here's why it just didn't work for me", rather than "this is why this is an inarguable pox on humanity".
I didn't realize upon watching it the first time that it didn't carry a writing credit, and was planning to re-watch it again before writing the piece I find myself in front of now. Timely as ever, I'm behind the entire curve of insta-controversy regarding LaBeouf consciously, knowingly plagiarizing Daniel Clowes' comic.
The thing that does not surprise me and continues to vex the internet is, sadly, a common trend in modern "I didn't really 100% plagiarize because hey, sampling in music is legal, and what about Fair Use, and it's not my fault!" culture. Like others, including the kid who claimed an entire Patton Oswalt standup bit as his own in a graduation speech, LaBeouf's apology goes two steps forward, and one step (and then another!) back:
The issue being that LaBeouf's short is an adaptation with minor differences aside from its translation to the screen, so it is not "something new and different". Nor is this chunk of his apology very different from this Yahoo Answers entry by "Lili", which he or whatever rep he has tweeting appears to have lifted.
This is the big sticking point, where he goes fully into a pseudo-apology rather than fully own up and submit to his knowing, intentional appropriation of someone else work, which he could have licensed and adapted, just as filmmakers did with a feature version of Clowes' Ghost World. To say that he "neglected" or "failed" to credit implies that he forgot or tried to do so in an appropriate manner. Instead, he actively engaged in avoiding any acknowledgement, credit, or licensing whatsoever.
LaBeouf probably knows better in the business sense. His agents, managers, and representatives definitely know much better than to do this knowingly. There isn't even the thin excuse of this being a "nobody" independent artist who made a small, obscure one-off. Clowes is not only a respected comics artist, but one whose work has been made into movies.
LaBeouf has, indeed, "fucked up". His apology could have fit into two tweets, and said something to the effect of:
I did not attribute nor license @DanielClowes' "Justin M Damiano" comic, which I adapted as a short film "HowardCantour.com". This was wrong.
I have no excuse to offer, only an apology to @DanielClowes, whom I am contacting so I can make things right to his satisfaction.
That is how you admit wrongdoing without making it conditional and peppered with excuses.
I don't care how many people have come to his defense on social media. They are wrong. Plagiarism is a "did they do X, Y, Z, or any combination?" sort of "did" or "did not" sort of act. Cheating, especially plagiarism, is more rampant than ever in schools and universities, and the presence of the internet is not solely to blame. The pressure of achievement culture has pressed kids into thinking cheating is the only way through the gates of education. The problem is that the behavior is learned and retained as a tool going forward.
LaBeouf would be much better off acknowledging the error of couching his initial apology and avoid rationalization. That would have been more possible had he not plagiarized his apology. If his defense is "I didn't know better", then "I was born this way" is a reasonable, universal defense for murder. LaBeouf did a great job of appropriating the work of others in his proclamation of what it means "to be a man" just earlier this year.
If Shia unfollows me on Twitter, I won't claim that he needs to "man up" or anything. It won't do anything to change his behavior or contribute to the discourse. I've chatted with him once in-person, and he seemed nice enough and well-intentioned, albeit massively preoccupied, pulled in a million directions. Growing up a child actor is not easy, nor is it an excuse, but it does a great deal to shape one's need to always be re-proving him- or herself.
It would impress me a great deal if he just came all the way clean. The "manliest" thing for outward appearances is to simply do the uncommon thing and get it all out. It would help purge a knot in his conscience that will otherwise grow, going forward. I hope he doesn't let public shaming be his excuse to not choose to be the better man.
Post Script
It would be great if the internet would not go after Jim Gaffigan for acting in the short. It would shock me to find out that he knowingly conspired to support a plagiarized work. He does great work in it, as he does in all his creative work.