Just Do It

Meaning

What does Just Do It mean?

Just do it (also known as Shia LaBeuf’s motivational speech) is a series of memes inspired by a video about the actor Shia LaBeouf shouting in vehemence, uttering supposedly inspirational sentences towards the viewer while showing strange gesticulation.

The short video was captured in a studio, in front of a green screen, giving the opportunity to content creators across the web to create a broad spectrum of memes about Shia and his bizarre motivational ritual.

via GIPHY

Origin

What's the origin of Just Do It?

The original footage was uploaded to Vimeo, and was created as a part of a video series project that featured Siha LaBeouf and other actors, as well as Central Saint Martins University scholars.

In 2015, a channel under the name of Mike Mohamed shared the same clip on YouTube, this time the clip bearing the title “Shia LaBeouf delivers the most intense motivational speech of all-time”. The video became a viral sensation almost instantly and generated millions of views just in a few days after the upload.

Spread & Usage

How did Just Do It spread?

Reddit was the first platform to react to the sensation, just in a matter of a few days subsequently to the clip’s surfacing on YouTube, the clip already landed in /r/Videos. Users rapidly started to manufacture video remixes and parodies, mostly uploading them to YouTube.

Just do it became a part of all the memes surrounding Shia LaBeuf’s persona. Another honorable example for a Shia LaBeuf meme could be the music video Actual Cannibal Shia LaBeuf.

AI
Hi Buddy! I'm the DigitalCultures Lab professor. Is there anything else you want to know? I'll answer immediately 🤓
 

External resources

More interesting stuff