Takeaways From This Year's Oscar Nominations

Hollywood award shows have been central to the national conversation on race (#OscarsSoWhite), gender (MTV's gender-neutral awards), and sexual harassment — the most recent Golden Globes saw actresses dressed in all black as part of a protest led by Time's Up. The Oscar nominations announced earlier today continue that cultural trend with some significant cracks in the glass ceiling and notable nods to Get Out, a horror film on America's race relations. Here are some key takeaways from this year’s Oscar nominations:

For the first time in the Oscar’s 90 years, a woman was nominated for Best Cinematography. Rachel Morrison scored with her work on Netflix’s Mudbound. Greta Gerwig received a Best Director nomination for her work on Lady Bird, which upped the number of women in Oscar history to be nominated for the award to five — still a sad number. Both nominations mark how far the industry has come and how much further there is to go. 

Another first for Mudbound is Mary J. Blige's nominations for Best Original Song and Best Supporting Actress. She became the first person to ever be nominated for both music and acting at the Oscars. Meanwhile, Meryl Streep maintained her most-nominated record with another for Best Actress, this time for The Post, bringing her total nominations up to 21. And Timothée Chalamet, the 22-year-old Call Me By Your Name star, became the youngest Best Actor nominee in over 70 years.

Get Out received a strong nod with four big nominations: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Actor (Daniel Kuluuya). Director Jordan Peele reacted on Twitter and gave a special shoutout to the audience.

The Shape of Water leads the Oscars with 13 nominations, including Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay. The Guillermo del Toro film stars Sally Hawkins and Octavia Spencer, who are both up for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress, respectively. 

Jimmy Kimmel hosts the 90th Oscars ceremony, airing Sunday, March 4 on ABC.