This year I watched the Oscars for the very first time. Although I love films, I’m notorious for not keeping up with the latest movies, so the event never interested me that much. But then, a friend of mine here at The Cascade invited me to come along with themself and some friends to watch the Oscars at the Rio Theatre in Vancouver. We crammed ourselves into probably the tightest theatre seats imaginable up on the balcony and waited in anticipation for the red carpet to appear on the big screen. I wasn’t sure what to expect as I watched a stream of people I didn’t know march past my eyes in fancy gowns. But then, Ariana Grande sang the opening song and I was hooked.
By the end of the show, I was definitely ready to go because four hours is a long time for an award ceremony (thanks Adrien Brody for dragging it out even longer with your ridiculous acceptance speech), but I left feeling satisfied. It wasn’t necessarily because of the Oscars, but because I shared time in the theatre with friends and strangers experiencing a cultural phenomenon, collectively.
Darien Johnsen is a UFV alumni who obtained her Bachelor of Arts degree with double extended minors in Global Development Studies and Sociology in 2020. She started writing for The Cascade in 2018, taking on the role of features editor shortly after. She’s passionate about justice, sustainable development, and education.
