Oscars 2017 Nominations: 5 Things They Got Right (& 4 They Got Wrong)

1. Diversity

After the controversies of the past two years, there's to be no repeat of #OscarsSoWhite this time around.

Four of the nine films nominated for Best Picture feature predominantly non-white casts and stories (Moonlight, Fences, Hidden Figures, and Lion), around 1/3 of the acting nominees are people of colour, Barry Jenkins received a Best Director nod, and Bradford Young is a rare black cinematographer to get recognised for his work (on Arrival).

It comes after the Academy expanded its membership to include more women and people of colour, and is a much-needed shift from the past couple of years. Of course, it'd be reductive to say that the industry has suddenly figured itself out. The Academy is still mostly old white men, and while this year had a larger number of films with people of colour that appealed to Oscar voters, there still needs to be greater opportunities for women and people of colour (and this extends far beyond just the Oscars, of course).

It's a step in the right direction, though; an acknowledgment from the Oscars of the failures of the last couple of years, and hopefully the start of a proper shift within the industry.