Did La La Land's marketing campaign come back to bite them?

I definitely see this as a major factor, especially when you account for how Damien won Best Director.

Do you think La La Land's own campaign contributed to the backlash in some way? I noticed a lot of people were mocking them, which could have led to more stories.

I think La La Land is just as relevant for society, probably more, than Moonlight. The thing is, La La Land's themes are going to connect with way less people than Moonlight's. Its emotional core relies on the nostalgia for the past and the heartbreaking feeling that the modern world doesn't care about those things anymore and that dreamers and artists are sort of like outcasts. So it is by design not going to speak to most people, since most people precisely constitute the current world the movie is lamenting about. It is only going to truly connect with the minority that shares Mia and Seb's melancholy.

Moonlight in contrast deals with themes that are very "hip" these days. Most people agree that racism and homophobia are bad things that need to be stopped, so obviously a movie like this is going to resonate and be seen as a very important one.

The reason I feel La La Land is more relevant is because it sides with the underdog. The world doesn't really need Moonlight to combat bigotry, since tolerance is already the consensus opinion and things will keep going in the right direction. La La Land on the other hand goes against the grain. We absolutely need movies like it, if we don't want the things we are nostalgic about to get lost forever. Just like Seb is doing his part to try to save Jazz, La La Land is doing its part to try keep those things alive.

Moonlight goes with the flow. La La Land is an uphill battle.

I think it mostly had to do with being the front runner. People had months to try and pick everything apart and jump to conclusions that weren't even there. They convinced themselves that it was "racist" or socially problematic. Overall, La La is such an innocent and charming film. With the political climate, maybe people wanted something with more bite.

Some people may have been sick of it winning, had some of these thoughts, and decided to put it further down  the ballot. At this time, Moonlight just had more universal appeal.

Are you talking about this ?:


www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/01/27/statement-president-international-holocaust-remembrance-day

“It is with a heavy heart and somber mind that we remember and honor the victims, survivors, heroes of the Holocaust. It is impossible to fully fathom the depravity and horror inflicted on innocent people by Nazi terror.

“Yet, we know that in the darkest hours of humanity, light shines the brightest.‎ As we remember those who died, we are deeply grateful to those who risked their lives to save the innocent.

“In the name of the perished, I pledge to do everything in my power throughout my Presidency, and my life, to ensure that the forces of evil never again defeat the powers of good. Together, we will make love and tolerance prevalent throughout the world.”

If so, can someone explain how that message deny the existence of the Shoah, I'm not sure to fully follow. I felt like there is some maybe Americans particularity involved. Because who can read that statement and conclude that the Shoah didn't occur from it ? As for the media not pointing it out, maybe it didn't reach that conclusion but it was everywhere that a statement about the holocaust didn't mention the word Jew/Jewish people/etc..., on cnn for example:
www.cnn.com/2017/01/28/politics/white-house-holocaust-memorial-day/

Times, The guardians, Usa Todays, etc...

As for this thread question, it is hard to say how in advance La la land was, it was not SAG choice for assemble and it didn't win WGA, for a lot of the rest of the season and for the ACE awards it was in is own musical/comedy category, making it harder to access if it was really in advance over Moonlight/Manchester.