Cyclical Trauma in See You Yesterday (for April 18th Blog Post)

See You Yesterday is somewhat unique as a time travel film in that the characters not only travel back in time once to change an event, but keep returning to the same 10 minute loop in order to get the change right. Initially, CJ and Sebastian are just testing to see if the time machine works, but once they realize that a chain of events leads to CJ's brother Calvin being executed by the police, CJ and Sebastian, as well as their friend Eduardo, try to figure out how they can undo the police killing that took her brother. 

In the process, we see how time travel, within the story of See You Yesterday, becomes a metaphor for the cyclical trauma that anti-black violence creates, particularly for the loved ones of people who have been impacted by it. Just as the perpetual acts of anti-black violence in this country force the loved ones of those killed by police to relive the same trauma they went through, CJ relives through the trauma of losing her own brother, not only through the videos she sees online reporting about the event, but also through her attempts at time traveling. In some cases, CJ and Sebastian are unsuccessful in saving Calvin and left reliving the same experience of losing him again, and in other cases, CJ loses Sebastian instead of Calvin, causing her to relive the same pain without any clear end in sight. This act of reliving the event through time travel—trying to figure ways in which the past could've changed—also reflects the ways in which trauma might manifest in families impacted by anti-black violence, like reliving the event within one's head and imagining "what if" scenarios in the hopes of imagining a way in which things would've turned out differently.

The ending of this film also reinforces this theme. After another failed attempt at getting Calvin away from the area, and Calvin eventually choosing to put himself in harm's way when he realizes that Sebastian might die if he doesn't do anything, CJ and Sebastian return to their time dejected. CJ eventually decides to go back in time on her own, and we see her running through the street, time machine strapped to her back, until the film cuts to black with no clear resolution to her efforts to save her brother and friend. In this way, See You Yesterday emphasizes the cyclical battle rather than the definite resolution, reflecting the ongoing nature of police violence in the US.