It’s been a busy morning. The nominees are out. About a thousand different variations of “it’s humbling and exciting” are coming through from the various contenders. And all eyes are fixing on February 26. But as we transition into phase two of the 2011-2012 film awards season, it’s worth it to pause and consider what we might have learned today.

Each and every year, the eventual slate of Oscar nominations reflects a number of key things about the members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences. Often they solidify already agreed-upon truths, but sometimes other things are illuminated. It’s silly, of course, to be overly reductive and chalk the Academy up as a singular entity. It’s a wide-ranging group with a bunch of different perspectives bouncing around within its ranks, but nevertheless, when they get together to tap the year’s excellence in this and that, it’s an eye-opening experience.

So it seemed a prime opportunity to dedicate this week’s edition of The Lists to just what we might have taken away from this morning’s announcement when it comes to better understanding this group.

Guy and I have sat down this morning and come up with 10 answers to that question. Have a look at what we settled on in our new gallery, and if you have anything you’d like to add, feel free to do so in the comments section below.

Once again, Guy will be back with his thoughts on the nominees later today, along with Gerard’s coverage of the crafts categories. Guy, Anne and I will be recording he podcast in a half hour, so that will hit in the early afternoon.

For year-round entertainment news and awards season commentary follow @kristapley on Twitter.

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