Not just because Meryl Streep and several other stars criticized President-elect Donald Trump -- though the fact that Trump felt compelled to respond shows that the remarks hit the real-life nerve they targeted. But also because of the movies themselves that are defining the contest.

Let's face it, the Academy Awards have always been political, and not just in the junior-high-lunch-table sense of which stars and directors are popular among their Hollywood peers. The Oscars are political because they present to the world the American film industry's idea of what its noblest achievements are. Inevitably, that means that more than just artistic merit comes into play.

Streep's remarks about Trump got the most attention, but the earlier part of her speech, where she noted that everyone in Hollywood is from somewhere else, and that movies are made by people of all different backgrounds, seems to be this Oscar season's guiding principle. Indeed, even the makers of Best Animated Feature winner "Zootopia" pointed out the pro-diversity message of their movie.

Certainly the nominees and winners on Globes night -- including recognition for "Moonlight," "Hidden Figures," and "Fences" -- suggest that there will be some black faces among the Oscar nominees. White working-class strivers, the sort of people who might have voted for Trump, are represented too, in "Manchester by the Sea." Even the sci-fi drama "Arrival," whose star, Amy Adams, is likely to see her Globes Best Actress nomination echoed at the Oscars, is a parable about immigration and xenophobia.

Meanwhile, Tuesday also saw the Producers Guild Award nominations, a list that's usually the strongest predictor of the Best Picture Oscar nominations. By and large, they also echo the Globes, even down to the inclusion of "Deadpool," a big hit but also an unconventional awards contender, certainly not a film that prompted thoughts of trophies when it opened last February. The PGA also liked "Arrival," "Fences," "Hacksaw Ridge," "Hell or High Water," "Hidden Figures," "Lion" "Manchester," "Moonlight," and "La La Land." (Oh, and any shot Martin Scorsese's "Silence" may have had is probably kaput now.)

If the Academy honors "La La Land," a movie that makes audiences feel good at a time of national strife, in part by ignoring that strife, that might be the most political statement of all.