They imagine how technology and time will change or lives for the better — or worse, mostly worst.
But some of the best and most memorable science fiction is far more grounded.
See You Yesterday does just that, blending Back to the Future with Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing to tell an original and powerful time travel story.
Netflix
Directed by Stefon Bristol and produced by Lee (his former NYU professor), the movie stars a young black woman in Brooklyn who invents a time machine.
see you yesterday
At first, C.J. Walker (Eden Duncan-Smith) and her best friend Sebastian (Dante Crichlow) are careful to observe the rules of time travel as they venture back a single day.
But when her brother is murdered by a police officer, the duo attempts to go back even further, only to learn that no matter what they do, they can’t change the past.
Released in 2019, this 80-minute Netflix original weaves its message of social justice into its touching time travel adventure. For its director, See You Yesterday is also a tribute to the people he grew up with.
“I grew up in the hood. I grew up with other brilliant young black people who are geeks, who are into anime, who are into stem research, who are not into rapping or playing sports.”