Season 4, Episode 16 of Buffy: The Vampire Slayer deals with the aftermath of the previous episode of the series. Watch Our Video Essay on Body Swap Fiction What’s more, these body swaps happen routinely. The characters in Altered Carbon, especially the rich ones, essentially swap bodies with themselves. That would be an example of Person A embodying a vacant Person A-2. Recent stories like Altered Carbon have used the idea to effectively show reincarnation in recycled or cloned bodies. For example, Quantum Leap or Being John Malkovich. Example: Freaky Friday.Īnother take on the genre is where Person A embodies Person B without Person B going anywhere. The usual circumstance is Person A embodies Person B and vice versa. However, it can occur a number of ways with multiple variations. How Does Body Swapping Work in Fiction?įor those not familiar, a classic case of body swap fiction is the one-to-one exchange of bodies between two people.

It’s commonly used to illustrate themes of compassion and understanding or to highlight disparity in social classes or ethnic groups. What Is Body Swap Fiction?Ī Body Swap is typically seen in science fiction or fantasy, where one character’s consciousness is swapped for another character’s consciousness, resulting in displacement in one another’s body. While there are many examples of great body swap fiction, or stories that feature body switching/identity switching, there’s definitely a select few that shine brighter than the rest. They can range from the macabre to the quirky or cringe-worthy to brilliant.

Just like bodies, no two examples of body swap fiction are exactly the same.

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