The Body And Metaphor

The Body S5 E16 (Buffy and the Art of Story Podcast) Is Death The Antagonist?Is there metaphor in The Body?

One thing I love about Buffy the Vampire Slayer is the way the writers use metaphor. That’s part of why I started the podcast Buffy and the Art of Story.

Yet the first time I watched one of the most well-known episodes, The Body, from Season 5 I thought it lacked metaphor entirely.

SPOILERS coming

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But looking closely at The Body for the podcast I began to wonder.

Throughout, the episode shows Buffy and her friends dealing with the aftermath of Joyce’s death. Not only grief, but parking tickets, paperwork, rules at the morgue – and the body.

Then there’s the final fight with the vampire, which Whedon describes (in the commentary on the DVD) as less cool kick boxing and more gross wrestling match.

Because everything is harder in the midst of grief, after someone you love dies. Day-to-day life doesn’t stop. It just gets harder.

And maybe that’s the metaphor.

Thoughts?

Listen below (or find links here to your favorite podcast apps) for more about the story elements of The Body on the Buffy and the Art of Story podcast:

P.S. Looking for help structuring your story or novel? Find free worksheets and more information here.