Draft:Watsonian date

A Watsonian date is a fictional calendar date in a film that is presented to orient the viewer to the film's timeframe. The term Watsonian refers to narrative structural elements that only exist in the fictional universe (diegesis) of a film. The Watsonian date includes either the month and year or more specifically, the month, year and day. The Watsonian date may occur before or after the film's release date, such as July 1, 1880 or March 20, 2370, for example.

The term "Watsonian" originates from the Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, in which the main character, Dr. Watson, is an author who creates a story within a story, or an embedded narrative. This is also called the "in-universe" perspective.

To be categorized as Watsonian, the date has to be employed within a work of fiction. The date may be conveyed in several ways. It may be viewed on-screen as a text caption, as part of the production set, or may be spoken by a fictional character. Documentaries or other nonfiction films, such as biopics, docudramas, and historical dramas that are based on fact are not qualified as Watsonian. Dates that are depicted within nonfiction are factual, whereas Watsonian dates are created by the authors to complement the fictional setting.

Watsonian date categories and types
Watsonian dates include at a minimum a year. The dates may also include all three units of time: day, month and year. Clock time of day may be optional. The dates may also include other unrelated fictional time units that are complex, such as the stardate from Star Trek, which qualifies as a Watsonian date. Units of time that are day and month only are not qualified as Watsonian because the date makes the year impossible to determine within the in-universe perspective.

Motion picture date categories

 * 1) Month, Day and Year: The date is presented by showing the month, day and year, which determines the exact time period the film is set in. When fictional events are depicted in the film, time can be skipped over hours, days and years as the film progresses in order to maintain the pace, running time and setting of the film. This category allows those events to have a specific starting point in order to predict possible outcomes and expect when the end will occur. For example, "May 13, 2057" or "September 22, 1915."
 * 2) Month and Year: The date is presented by showing only the month and year, which can only approximate the time period within an entire month without a clear beginning date. But it maintains the context of a basic point in time that the film is set in. For example, "January 2030" or "December 1948".
 * 3) Month and Day: The date is presented by showing only the month and day without revealing the year, which makes this category the most difficult to determine. The Watsonian date can only be determined by searching for the calendar date that matches with the same name and number of the day in the same month. The date may come before, after or within the year of the film's release. For example, "March the 14th, Monday (March 14, 2022)" or "October the 5th, Friday (October 5, 2012)".

Motion picture date types

 * 1) Captioned: On-screen text added as a layer of film editing, usually displayed at the bottom, center or corner of the film shot of the scene.
 * 2) Visual: On-screen visual elements of the production set, such as a calendar on a wall, an email typed on a computer or a video being watched on a phone or TV screen.
 * 3) Mentioned: The date is only spoken by a character without being displayed in the production set or onscreen as text.

Watsonian date uses
Watsonian dates are used in fiction to introduce the viewer to the film's "total world of the story—the events, characters, objects, settings, and sounds that form the world in which the story occurs". For example, the 1965 TV series Lost in Space used a captioned date on-screen at the very beginning of the first aired episode to immediately orient the viewer to the "future" timeframe. Another example, the Robert Zemeckis film Back to the Future used a movie prop newspaper with a date that orients the viewer to the "past" timeframe.

Watsonian dates are used to help the viewer understand the scene's context based on the character's past or future, or to shift back and forth in time in service of the film production. If the date occurs in a previous year, it allows the viewer to see a fictional story within a historical period. The story is then narrated and observed through the perspective of a character who was in that period. By doing so, the viewer is oriented to a fictional reality as if it is happening now instead of assuming that it already has been or it will. If the date occurs in a future year from the viewer's present moment, it allows the viewer to visualize the realism of that future. The viewer's predictions and interpretations can be more precise as real-world events unfold and build towards that possible future.

Some calendar dates are used on-screen in nonfiction to highlight factual and significant events. The events are displayed on-screen like a fictional work by using similar calendar date types that are visual, captioned, or mentioned. For example, the Ron Howard docudrama film Apollo 13 presents calendar dates on-screen, such as "July 20, 1969" in the style of a fictional film to show the dramatic element of Armstrong landing on the Moon or "April 11, 1970" to show the launching day of the mission itself.

Plot engagement
The Watsonian dates are presented to build awareness of the fictional present time of the film and build mystery and suspense around the unfolding events within a singular timeline in a film.

The Watsonian dates are presented within the film by being written into the screenplay to create the basis of the film's diegetic story. It is created to superimpose visually for the viewer, to have the actor mention it verbally or to have it presented on a production set for fictional context. This allows the film production to create an in-universe narrative by integrating the three motion picture types (visual, captioned and mentioned) of the Watsonian date into the film.

The year is most often depicted in films to establish and support the basic setting of the past and future period without the month or day. However, the Watsonian date allows the film to be depicted at a specific point in time so the viewer can observe the fictional setting within a real-life environment in its current status. Doing so gives the audience the geographic location and era in which the story takes place and the audience will be efficiently engaged in the plot, thus reducing confusion of where and when it takes place. In both past and future tense, the viewer can see what events have happened to make the past become the present and what events will happen to make the present become the future.

Fictional holidays
The dates can also be used to create fictional holidays, where the characters celebrate a fictional event that has great significance within the film's in-universe perspective. The fictional holiday date allows the viewer to explore the depth of the in-universe perspective and the structure of the film's narrative. For example, First Contact Day is a fictional holiday depicted within the Star Trek franchise, where people celebrate April 5, the day where humans have their first encounter with aliens and create their first warp ship, which is presented in the 1996 film Star Trek: First Contact. Another example, the Purge is a fictional holiday depicted within the franchise of the same name, where every year from March 21 to 22, people celebrate it by committing legalized crimes across America. Even though it is a government-sanctioned event and not an original tradition within America or around the world, the Purge is informally described as a holiday within the franchise.

List of films with Watsonian dates
''This list is incomplete. Make additions to the list and document all column data. The elapsed time mark that varies between film versions (director's cut, extended, original) should be stated in the NOTES column.''

List of TV Series with Watsonian dates
''This list is incomplete. Make additions to the list and document all column data. The elapsed time mark that varies between versions (re-releases or original airing) should be stated in the NOTES column.''