Diversity won big last night at the Oscars! "The Shape of Water" by director Guillermo del Toro took home an Oscar for Best Picture. If you loved the animated movie "Coco," then you probably loved the performance of "Remember Me" by Miguel, Gael Garcia Bernal, and Natalia LaFourcade. The song also won Best Original Song.

With small references to the #MeToo movement, the Oscars were not as political as the Golden Globes but people still showed their support and Inclusion.

Expected or unexpected award winners?

In 2016, the #OscarsSoWhite started trending when the only major winners of the Oscars were white actors.

In 2017, the number of diverse nominees increased drastically so many expected there to be even more diversity this year, and there was, but with some surprises.

Many people believe that most of the award winners were expected. Although it seemed that we waited centuries to see Leonardo DiCaprio finally win an Oscar last year, James Ivory won his first-ever Oscar at the age of 89, making him the oldest person to take a shiny gold man-shaped statue.

"The Shape of Water" won four awards, "Coco" took two, and "Dunkirk" won three. Other winners were: "Darkest Hour," "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri," "I, Tonya," "Call Me by Your Name," "Get Out," "Phantom Thread," "Icarus," "A Fantastic Woman," "Dear Basketball," "Blade Runner 2049," "Heaven is a Traffic Jam on the 405," and "The Silent Child."

Celebrating diversity and inclusion

The movie "Coco," featuring an all-Latino cast, and including a story about the Day of the Dead, took home awards for Original Song and Animated Feature film.

"With Coco, we tried to take a step forward toward a world where all children can grow up seeing characters in movies that look and talk and live like they do," director Lee Unkrich said as he accepted the award for Animated Feature Film.

Other diversity-related wins went to "Lady Bird," "Get Out," "Mudbound," and more. Daniela Vega, who appeared as the Oscars' Best Foreign film recipient, became the first transgender presenter.

Female nominees in all categories plus female filmmakers, producers, directors, cinematographers, and designers were requested to stand up by Frances McDormand, in her acceptance speech for Lead Actress for the role in "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri." With the words "inclusion rider," and by making them stand, McDormand wanted to encourage females and hold them accountable to fight for a more diverse and inclusive industry.

Introducing a tribute video clip for the #MeToo movement and to promote inclusion, Ashley Judd, Annabella Sciorra, and Salma Hayek gave an emotional speech together.

With a new sense of empowerment, actresses continue their promise of a new and safer world because... #Timesup.
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