Yesterday Was Such an Easy Game to Play

 

The netflix movie “See You Yesterday” features two highschool age kids traveling back to yesterday to save their brother from dying that previous day. The New Yorker article “The Perils and Promise of Time Traveling While Black” discusses the ways in which the film successfully discusses time bending narratives with Black protagonists. The article points out that because “See You Yesterday” centers around saving their brother from being killed by the police, it really removes the fantasy element of time traveling. It also points out the impact of the vague ending to the movie. Because there is never a clear resolution to CJs brother’s death, the film illustrates the lack of resolution for Black Americans. 

What was so interesting about this film was how differently it handled the issue of police brutality compared to other films with young black protagonists like “The Hate U Give" for example. Instead of moving towards a more traditional solution to violence against their own, CJ turns to something unexpected like time travel. It was refreshing to see a young Black girl in this role. The simplistic wants of all the characters, a brother alive, an education, give a realistic feeling that gracefully shows how much the Black experience forces one to let go of outrageous fantasy. It was quite different from other Afrofuturist takes, like for instance the outrageousness of Sun Ra in Space is the Place.