Archer Creator Admits: “It’s Cartoon Porn"

The creator of FX’s animated spy series Archer has admitted the obvious: the cartoon is pornographic. And every cable and satellite subscriber in America is paying for it. Now in its sixth season, basic cable network FX’s animated program Archer is a crass conglomeration of raunchy sex, ultra-graphic gore, and non-stop profanity. The PTC has repeatedly condemned the program as the Worst Cable TV Show of the Week for its explicit content. (See here, here, here, and here.) Until recently, the show’s creators have defended the program’s excesses with that most tired, unconvincing, and inaccurate claim – that it is “satire.” But true satire actually, well, satirizes something, usually in an attempt to make a social or political point. Archer doesn’t. Yes, it imitates James Bond movies and other spy thrillers in its basic set-up; but it doesn’t use this setting to advance an agenda or make a deeper point. It just shows people copulating, spewing f-bombs, and blowing each others’ heads off. Now, however, even the show’s creator has stripped away the pretense of “satire,” and has openly admitted the obvious: Archer is pornography, plain and simple. A recent episode ended with lead characters Archer and Lana openly copulating animal-style in the nude. Asked about this scene by The Daily Beast, Archer creator Matt Thompson opined:

Us getting away with the amount of sex we got away with in that episode where Archer is having sex with Lana from behind, and Lana’s breasts are jiggling all over, was great. I read a comment online that said, “OK, now Archer is basically cartoon porn,” and I thought, “Yeah! It’s cartoon porn! F**k off! It’s great!” I hope it’s cartoon porn. If you can get away with it, do it.

This attitude is all too prevalent among creators of cable TV today. “If you can get away with it, do it,” in spite of the fact that every program on basic cable – pornographic or not – is forcibly supported by millions of Americans, whether they want it or not, watch it or not…even if they find it offensive. The only alternative such Americans have is to cancel their cable or satellite subscriptions completely. This is an unfair alternative for those who want to receive Nickelodeon or Disney Channel for their children (or even TBN or EWTN for themselves), but are forced through the entertainment industry’s extortionate bundling schemes to support open pornography, just because Matt Thompson thinks he can “get away with it.” Matt Thompson is no doubt thrilled to be “getting away with” putting his twisted sex fantasies on TV; and his program’s tiny audience is likely equally gratified. But there is no reason why every American with pay-TV should be forced to support what the creator himself says is pornography. To learn about PTC’s Cable Choice Campaign, click here.