In the movie, “See you yesterday,” by Spike Lee is close to the lives lived in New York. Not only was the after school scene to the train (Bedford Park Blvd Lehman college) a few blocks from where I live, but there was scenes that truly displayed the lives of many New Yorkers. The movie focuses on many aspects of live in the city, from how young people have to become strong on their own to how the world treats them due to being physically young.
In the beginning we are introduced to Claudette (CJ), Sebastian, and Eduardo, who are students of middle class struggling to get recognition to go to prestigious schools such as MTI and many more. This issue that is introduced is to familiarize them as actual people, and make the character relatable to those going to High School. As they arrive to Flatbush the story is then expanded into introducing community problems, however the first problem introduced in Flatbush is still connected to making the characters relatable. CJ is confronted by an Ex that she once had named Jared, they go into Carlitos’ store and cause a seen. This connection of the neighborhood not only expands on the location of which they live in, but the ambiance they must endure.
Another major conflict that is encountered is the outcome of their time travel, which is causing ripples in their timelines this not only affects their own lives but those around them. Ultimately causing the loss of Calvins life, CJ seems to be worn out by such loss that they do not attend the fair in which they would have introduced the time machine. This conflict truly shows that CJ is very close to her brother and would much rather attend his event than what her previous desires, she would have gotten the opportunity to get to the school she wanted to and much more. This causes her to travel back once again to save her brother, however fails due to being behind on their time. She tries once more and this time saves her brother at the cost of Sebastians life, she continues to not see that her conflict is not with her decisions but that there will be a price for everything she changes.
Ultimately, in the movies second to last attempt it is revealed that there is a social pressure she was not taking into account, the social injustice that police have placed people of her skin color under. Due to this fact even though her brother tried to do the right thing he would ultimately loss his life due to the police mans racism, as well as the police mans inability to take time to talk and peacefully settle a problem.
In conclusion, the movie has many conflicts that it touches on, from social injustice to science fiction problems. The movie tries to touch upon all these points in many narratives to show the viewer that peoples lives in lower income, or middle class communities are socially and politically not likely to have the desired outcomes. As well as the difficult lives that people live due to these injustices, all in all the fact that there was time travel was a good touch to add more ambiance to the setting.
