What Do Jokes About 'Corn Plates' Mean On Film Twitter? The Slang Term 'Cornplating' Explained

Discussions about the new Luca Guadagnino film Challengers appear to have stretched long beyond their expiry date, causing many internet users to evoke a term reserved for when people get way too into analysing a film that barely demands it; Corn Plate.

Inspired by a viral tweet about the Disney film Encanto from 2022, Corn Plate or cornplating is now a tongue in cheek phrase used by fans of various movies and TV shows when they know they are overanalyzing or or dwelling on frivolous details for the sake of keeping the conversation going. Here's a breakdown of the phrase.

Where Does The Term 'Corn Plate' Come From?

Back in January 2022, Twitter user @hourlydolores posted an image of the character Dolores from the 2021 animated film Encanto, where she is seen holding a plate of corn in her hands with a shocked expression. The post read, "I never realized she was holding a plate with corn in this scene."

Later that day, @yandhiisntreal quoted the post commenting, "Y'all are running out of shit to say about this movie I'm crying." The offhand comment (which happened to ignore why the person next to Dolores had crazy eyes) went on to dictate how nitpicky many people got about unnecessary details in film, for fear of cornplating.

How Did The Slang Term 'Cornplate' Spread Online?

While the original screenshot was reposted across the internet later in January 2022, people eventually also began using it to indicate that someone may be reading too much into things. For instance, X users @CeHache91 and @teikokuus both used the screenshot to disparage someone else or themselves later in 2022.

Use of the term "cornplate" continued into the year 2023, with people still making fun of others and themselves for commenting on minute details on popular media. In April 2023, X user @FNaF_Funnies used the screenshot to mock someone for zooming in on a chair int he background of a poster and noting that it looks unlike any chair seen in the game.

Meanwhile, another Twitter user posted, "I never realized he was eating a plate with spaghetti in this scene," a tongue in cheek reference to the post that started it all.

How Do I Use The Term 'Cornplate'?

Use of the term "Cornplate" is pretty subjective, but it can be used anything you want to lampshade an excess of posts made in giddy excitement about a TV show, movie or game you like. You could also say, "plate of corn" or "cornplate" when you think someone is making a total stretch out of a single frame in a piece of media.

For the full history of cornplating, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.