What is a watershed? It’s a land area that channels rainfall and snowmelt to creeks, streams, and rivers, and eventually to outflow points such as reservoirs, bays, and the ocean.
The watershed year for science fiction must be 1968, when Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey appeared, not only dramatically expanding for this kind of motion picture the potentials of film technology, but making science fiction a vehicle for both poetic vision and metaphysical exploration.