Oscars 2018: The Academy's newer, younger members seem to have made a difference

"You only see what you look at."

Those words of wisdom were shared with me earlier this week by a source for a future story. But they've been resonating with particular force in the wake of Tuesday's Oscar nominations.

Tellingly, the announcement was made by Andy Serkis and Tiffany Haddish, both of whom delivered two of the most accomplished screen performances of 2017: Serkis in an uncannily expressive motion-capture portrayal of the ape leader Caesar in "War For the Planet of the Apes," Haddish in a scene-stealing turn as a brutally frank bestie in the hit summer comedy "Girls Trip."

The fact that the Academy for Motion Picture Arts and Sciences selected Serkis and Haddish to present the nominations felt like a pointed reminder from the powers-that-be that, even though they're welcome to take satellite roles in the festivities, neither of them had a realistic chance of being selected, having appeared in the Oscar-averse genres of CGI spectacle and commercial mainstream comedy.

But it turns out what looked like a snub might augur change that's already underway: The crop of filmmakers and actors vying for this year's 90th Academy Awards that Serkis and Haddish sometimes awkwardly read out is one of the most inclusive in recent memory, and not only by the usual definition of that term.

It's true that Greta Gerwig became the fifth female director to be nominated for best director, and that Jordan Peele became the fifth African-American director to be nominated in that category; four actors and actresses of color were nominated in the acting categories; Rachel Morrison and Dee Rees became the first woman and African-American woman, respectively, to be nominated for cinematography and best adapted screenplay. Even when they weren't "issue films," this year's best picture nominees explicitly or tacitly addressed such subjects as gay identity, racism, sexism and xenophobia.

But, slice and dice those facts - and look a bit more deeply into what was nominated on Tuesday - and even more encouraging realities emerge. Not only do Gerwig and Peele embody progress vis-a-vis gender and ethnic representation, they were both nominated for their first films, as were Emily V. Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani for writing "The Big Sick." Not only were the scripts for such high-gloss, classical dramas as "Darkest Hour," "Molly's Game" and "Call Me by Your Name" nominated, but so were the edgy midnight-movie spoof "The Disaster Artist" and the X-Men spinoff "Logan."

Perhaps most incredibly, "Mudbound" received four nominations - including for Rees' script and Mary J. Blige's revelatory supporting performance - even though many observers thought it might be shut out because it was released by Netflix, a company many Hollywood insiders love for its money but hate for its aversion to opening films in theaters.

Although it's impossible to quantify, the shift surely harks back to the Academy's then-president Cheryl Boone Isaacs' brilliant decision to address criticisms of the mostly white and male organization by opening up membership, not just to women and people of color, but younger film professionals. Just last summer, a record 774 new members joined the Academy, bringing the total to 8,500.

The results aren't just visible in who gets nominated, but what: After decades of deeming particular genres unworthy of Oscar prestige, that snobbery now seems to be loosening, with a Blumhouse horror film like "Get Out," a creature-feature-with-a-message like "The Shape of Water" and a modest but flawlessly constructed coming-of-age comedy like "Lady Bird" vying with the likes of such traditional fare as "The Post" and "Darkest Hour." It might even be thanks to voters who came of age with "Memento" and the "Dark Knight" trilogy that Christopher Nolan finally received his first nod for best director, for the time-scrambled World War II movie "Dunkirk."

One can only hope that we're closer to the day when Serkis and Haddish will have their own names called - even if they star in the types of special-effects adventures and comedies Hollywood is happy to exploit economically but rarely considers more seriously. (This habit is closely related to studio executives' insistence of claiming that smash hits like "Girls Trip" "overperformed," rather than served an audience they chronically underestimate and ignore.)

For the generation coming up, distinctions based on genres, platforms and themes will be irrelevant when considering vision and virtuosity - just as the gender and ethnic background of the makers should be. If this year's Oscars feels more expansive and broad-minded than ever, it's likely because the Academy's newest members are seeing excellence where their forebears never bothered to look.