The 2018 Oscar Noms Set Some Very Exciting Records

On Tuesday, the 2018 Oscar nominations were announced, celebrating so many of the best movies the past year has had to offer. It's exciting to see so many beloved movies like Lady Bird and Get Out scoop up those prestigious nods from the academy, and records were broken and history made with the Oscar nominations, as well. Some of the new records even show the progress Hollywood is making to become more inclusive.

As much fun as the Oscars are to watch, they've always tended to trend toward honoring more white people over people of color and more men over women, and they're not the only award show guilty of that. With more opportunities being given to white male actors and directors, diversity at awards shows can be hard to come by. But now, it looks like things are turning around and there are even more records being set in other ways, too, especially for actors like Meryl Streep, who have been consistently scoring nominations over the course of their careers.

Here are some of the most important milestone and records that have been set after Monday's Oscar nomination announcement. The progress happening is certainly long overdue, but this could help set the stage for positive change in the years to come.

The Best Director Category

One of the biggest milestones being hit this year is in the category of Best Director. Finally, this category isn't dominated by white men. For the first time since 2009, a woman is nominated (Greta Gerwig for Lady Bird), and two of the nominees (Jordan Peele and Guillermo del Toro) are men of color. Gerwig is also the fifth woman in history to ever be nominated for Best Director.

Jordan Peele Is Killing It

Speaking of Jordan Peele, this year is a huge one for him and the boundaries he's breaking down after the massive success of Get Out. The movie scored four nominations, including Best Picture and Best Actor In A Leading Role for Daniel Kaluuya, and this is a really big deal. Peele is the third person to ever receive nominations in Best Picture, Directing, and Writing for his first directing project, and he's the first black person ever to receive those nominations all in the same year. Peele is also only the fifth black director nominated in Oscars history, and only the fourth black person to be nominated for writing. It's hard to believe that we had to wait until 2018 to see any of this happen, but it's great to see Peele and Get Out getting the recognition they deserve.

Denzel Washington Remains The Most Nominated Black Actor Ever

Another big accomplishment went to Denzel Washington. After his nomination for Best Actor in Fences last year made him the most nominated black actor in history with seven nominations over the course of his career, the nomination he scored this time around (another Best Actor nod for Roman J. Israel, Esq.) brings that number up to eight and he continues to hold that record.

A Woman Was Nominated For Best Cinematography For The First Time

Rachel Morrison is the first woman in Oscars history to be nominated for Best Cinematographer after her work in Mudbound. And, as this tweet points out, the first person who's worked on The Hills to receive a nomination, which is obviously a very important fact.

Meryl Streep Continues To Dominate

And Meryl Streep's nomination for The Post is her 21st of her career, and with talent like hers, there's no doubt that number will continue to grow as long as she's still making movies. And hopefully, that also goes for the amazing reaction gifs that we, as a society, are gifted with from her sitting in the audience.

It's awesome to see that things are finally changing in Hollywood, especially after so many years without the kind of diversity that the entertainment industry needs to see. Maybe this year will be starting a trend for the Oscars for years to come.