Archer (2009)

“That is my foot in your face! Smell the embarrassment.” — Sterling Archer

The title sequence of the FX animated series Archer creates the artful illusion of a serious spy-related program. Designed as a direct homage to the Saul Bass cut-out style prevalent in the 1960s, the sequence focuses on a bouncing white dot, fired from main character Sterling Archer’s gun in the first title card. The cast is introduced one-by-one in a series of connected vignettes that relay character information while propelling the the action forward.

Judy Greer’s “heartbreaker” secretary Cheryl Tunt is shown with a heart-shaped locket, Amber Nash as Pam Poovey is operating a dolphin puppet, demonstrating her character’s commitment to anarchic references, Cyril Figgis (Chris Parnell) fiddles impotently with his cell phone, and Lana Kane (Aisha Tyler), Archer’s super spy sometimes love interest, shoots her gun right at Archer himself. Arms raised and against the wall, the projectile prompts Archer to jump straight into his mother Mallory’s drink. He emerges “cleansed”, striking a James Bond-esque stance regarding silhouettes of women arranged in provocative poses. The sequence ends with both Archer and the women he’s objectifying literally falling from their positions, as if the ground beneath their feet has given way.

This title sequence tells us that Archer is, among other things, a deadly accurate takedown of entitled white American masculinity. Its satirical target is not so much an individual (or an individual nation), but the swaggering, narcissistic underbelly of white male privilege. His first pose emits quiet authority, but by the end of the sequence he’s literally running for his life, away from the woman he claims to love and towards the most important woman in his life: his rapacious and abusive mother. It’s only through the cleansing rinse of alcohol and maternal neglect that he can emerge at the sequence’s finale, a parody of a “real man”.

The original Archer title sequence (described above) opened the show for its first four seasons, but since then it has evolved along with the show to accommodate changes in theme, setting, and even casting, but the essential style and metaphors have remained. The sequence, in an original and daring way, sums up the tone of the show – serious surroundings with deeply unserious characters – and its most compelling theme: entitled white masculinity. As for Archer himself, his swaggering arrogance provides a perfect satirical target, and the opening sequence drives the point home with admirable visual storytelling economy.

A discussion with Producer/Art Director NEAL HOLMAN and Lead Motion Designer MARK PATERSON.

What was the original concept for the Archer opening title sequence?

Neal: My plan from the very start was to do an opening using silhouettes in some form or fashion. Saul Bass and some later Bass-esque opens, like Catch Me If You Can and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, were pretty heavy influences – even the end sequence of The Incredibles. Anything that had that sort of deft blend of fun and action went into the pot.

I saw the mock Saul Bass Star Wars open around the…

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