The protagonist's name is not stated until 18 minutes into the film.
By the time the film was made, emo had essentially faded away. Writer/director Neil Triffett still felt it was an important story to tell, explaining, "Anyone who read the script got that it wasn't important that Emo's have taken a step back culturally; they're just a stand-in for any group with out-there ideas. Even though Emos aren't as present today, their ideas, like not being happy all the time, are still urgent to discuss."
Based on a short film (of the same name) that premiered two years prior. It was directed by Neil Triffett as well.
Writer and director Neil Triffett shared how his experience at high school loosely inspired the film: "In my music room at school we had a group of Christians and a group of Emos, and I think that's where the idea of pitting those two groups against each other came from. They weren't at war like in the film, but there was a tension of ideas there. In some ways, Emos are almost the opposite of Christians - they're not optimistic, happy or interested in purity. But they're just as emotional."
The filmmakers drew inspiration from Mean Girls, Easy A, Election, and Hairspray.