"If you're making a movie, ultimately you can't help but be sensitive to the world in which you create it," Yates said of the filming process. "It influences you every single day, influenced Jo when she was writing the script, influences us as we put the whole story together . . . but the themes, I think, are kind of universal and archetypal and timeless. Rather than a direct political sort of counterpoint or context, it's really about the values of tolerance and understanding and a celebration of diversity."
Yates went on to note that while the degradation of real-life society's value on celebrating said themes is "slightly scary," he has hope for the message at the core of the film. "What's wonderful is that, you know, we're making a movie that will be seen by millions of people and millions of young people, and we're making a story that celebrates tolerance, acceptance of the other."