Review: I watched Shia LaBeouf watch Shia LaBeouf

First, Ed Sheeran. Then, Joe Jonas. Now, ladies and gentlemen, Shia LaBeouf is on campus.

Well...not technically.

Shia LaBeouf has definitely been here in spirit though, as I have been live streaming his newest performance art piece, #ALLMYMOVIES for the last three days. Through thick and thin, lecture and lunch at Lenoir, I have stuck by Shia's side. And it has been the weirdest experience of my natural life.

This piece is the second art installation LaBeouf has done with collaborators Luke Turner and Nastja Säde Rönkkö. You may recall the first one titled #IAMSORRY, in which LaBeouf wore a paper bag over his head that read "I am not famous anymore."

#ALLMYMOVIES entailed Shia LaBeouf sitting in a movie theater, watching all of his movies in reverse chronological order. The general public were invited to attend and admission was free. A camera was set up in front of LaBeouf and the experience was live streamed to the world on the website, NewHive.

I first heard of this piece on Twitter, of course. Buzzfeed published an article about it, I read it, and immediately tuned in. And, that's where I have been for the last 72 hours. Sitting in front of multiple screens (laptop, phone, Nintendo DS) watching Shia LaBeouf watch Shia LaBeouf.

But Kameron, you say, wasn't that such a huge waste of your time?? My answer, dear reader, is NO.

I took joy in watching Shia laugh uncontrollably while watching "The Even Stevens Movie," sleep during basically all of the "Transformers" movies, lift his hands in exasperation at "Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle," and stare thoughtfully and reflectively while watching Holes. It made me furious when people disrespected the rules and took pictures with him or tried to engage him in conversation. I had mad respect, however, for the pure of heart, the viewers who sat next to him and treated him like a normal person rather than a celebrity spectacle, the green-haired girl who gave him an illustration of Caveman from "Holes." One woman even gave him a bouquet of flowers. All of these gifts and well-wishes Shia received silently with a smile, as he is not allowed to speak during his performance art pieces.

The live stream had no sound, so it really felt like I was watching a man in meditation. This added a special serenity and poignancy to #ALLMYMOVIES that would not have been there if there had been sound. You could really focus on what must have been going through LaBeouf's head. Was he ashamed of some of his roles? Was he proud? Was he thinking of being on set filming each movie? When he left in between movies, where was he going? Bathroom break or #ShiaLaBeoufCryZone?

When it ended at approximately 8:35 p.m. Thursday, and "Breakfast with Einstein" faded to black, Shia LaBeouf gave a small smile to the camera that had watched him for three days, got out of the movie seat that had been his home for 72 hours, and exited the frame.

#ALLMYMOVIES could be described as monotonous yet strangely captivating — a new way of looking at a celebrity so plagued by bad press and controversy in recent years. It left me with questions that may not ever be truly answered. 

It left me sympathizing with Shia, as you saw him watch himself age backwards from a soldier in "Fury" to goofy Louis Stevens in "The Even Stevens Movie." It also left me with a dead phone and a laptop hanging on for dear battery life.

But, it was #ALLWORTHIT.