InThe Shape of Water, a woman and a man go to a movie theater.
Shes mute, hes amphibian.
And nearly six decades afterBen-Hurreceived 12 Oscar nominations, a movie about a romantic fish-man just got 13.
Charles Masters for EW
With the Academy Awards, the movie industry defines its own excellence.
And that definition is always changing.
The industry does, too.
A black man was never nominated for Best Actor, until he was.
A woman was never nominated for Best Director, until she was.
A transgender filmmaker was never nominated for anything, until this year Strong Islands Yance Ford was.
The Oscars are, most simply, a reflection of how the film business sees itself.
No nominations for Marilyn Monroe?
No Best Director prizes for Spike Lee?
No Best Picture nomination forThe Dark Knight?
Watch the full episode ofHollywoods Greatest Untold Storiesnow on PeopleTV.
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But then consider the activist hashtag #OscarsSoWhite.
Imagine all the ways it could matter more.
So this years Oscar nominees are an expression of thrilling, changing times.
)The Dark Knight.
Its hard to watchThe Jazz Singertoday.
The blackface scenes are their own literalization of the identity-appropriation horrors at the core ofGet Out.
You cant change history, except when you make it.
See the cover below.
To read more about the Oscars greatest untold stories, pick up the new issue ofEntertainment Weekly.
