Cinema lovers across Iowa City are uniting March 10 to defend Hollywood’s most glamorous night of the year despite its recent dwindle in cultural relevancy.

Attributed to a recent jump in “snubbed” wins, viewership for the Oscars decreased by more than 50 percent, from 43.7 million viewers in 2014 to 18.7 million in 2023. With the 2021 Oscars holding the lowest ratings in the ceremony’s history, the once must-watch show has been steadily losing relevance.

Despite these numbers, FilmScene Event Manager Angie Mabeus reports an increase in attendance at their Oscars screenings. Last year, they drew in a crowd of around 300 people to the “Blue Carpet Bash.”

“I think we just kind of have the community factor a little bit more,” she said. “You can bring your friends here – you can get dressed up and [make it] an outing rather than staying at home.”

Dana Woolery, a member of the University of Iowa Bijou film board, said he had never attended an Oscars watch party before attending the bash.

He could never find a group of people interested in award shows in the past, but FilmScene’s event was the first time he encountered a group of people interested in watching the Oscars.

“I feel like people who watch the Oscars are a very niche subculture in cinema and the film community in general,” Woolery said.

Woolery added that the Oscars represented more than just awards and nominees. He also enjoys the in-person reactions — both positive and negative — and the discussions watch parties bring.

“[The Academy Award nominees] are kind of a reflection of the psyche of America and the psyche of the entertainment industry as a whole,” he said.

Shift manager at FilmScene Ashlyn Watson has attended the bash in previous years and intends to attend in 2024 as well. When she is not participating in work-related Oscar parties, though, she enjoys celebrating the awards by watching them with her friends.

With her friends, she described the environment as much more casual and laid back. She said watching the awards ceremony with them could be a lot more humorous as well.

However, while watching with her friends she is typically more laid back. With her strong interest in film, Watson prefers attending FilmScene’s watch party to properly celebrate as it allows her to celebrate the Oscars in a more dedicated format.

“The art and the culture and the ritual of going to movie theaters is something that I’m always going to promote,” Watson said. “That is really important to who I am and what I think I stand for personally.”

Unlike Watson, freshman Olivia Heller expressed a disinterest in watching the Oscars completely.

Regarding her interest in film, Heller was drawn to horror and romantic comedies. She said the Oscars served a frivolous value, and to her, the voting process was biased.

“I think the film should speak for itself,” Heller said. “It doesn’t need to get all the awards and to be honest, the people voting for the Oscars don’t represent the public as a whole or how the public is seeing art. It’s a very specific view that is voting.”

Watson believes that paying attention to the Oscars and film in general is important.

“Paying attention to film is kind of like keeping your finger on the pulse of society,” Watson said. “What has been said in film is a direct translation of what’s going on in our culture and our society at the moment … There are so many different worlds to explore whether they’re huge or small within film, that I think that’s incredibly important.”