Cher Martinetti - Pop Culture Pioneers: The Women Who Transformed Fandom in Film, Television, Comics, and More

F AIR WARNING TO all who read this foreword: you are now experiencing the words of an individual who is quite literally in the throes of fangirling. If, like me, you are a fan of genre and passionate about credit being given where it has long been due, the stories within this book will not only enlighten but also inspire. Plainly put, you are in for quite a thrilling ride. Fast-paced, vibrant, and possessing a quirky warmth, not unlike the author herself, Pop Culture Pioneers had me equal parts exasperated over the extent of erasure of so many formidable women in genre and delighted by the brilliance and perseverance of those who came before.

Anyone who has ever had the pleasure of meeting Cher Martinetti knows well her edgy, quick wit and deep concern with the plight of women in pop culture and beyond. I found myself immediately pulled in by her many accounts of those who continued to persist in building tables, even as seats were being whisked out from underneath them. Chers passion for shining light on the countless pioneering contributions by women in the realms of genre is in itself a testament to the resilience we are so often called on to exhibit in the face of erasure.

As shown by the impact of the Scully Effect, we women need to see ourselves reflected back in a variety of mediums to further believe that there is a place for us not only in the worlds depicted but in the one we currently inhabit as a whole. To read about the work that has been done by women in fan culture, gaming, animation, film, television, and more affirms with a verifiable insistence that we absolutely belong anywhere that our imaginations can take us.

One of my earliest memories of Cher was at San Diego Comic-Con, where she had brought together a room full of incredible individuals that included Gail Simone, Sana Amanat, Fiona Dourif, Lights, and Sera Gamble. She popped some bubbly, gave a toast to all assembled, and within moments had us off to the floor to discuss all things women and pop culture. It is therefore no surprise to me that within the pages of this book, Cher continues to champion the myriad contributions of women in our favorite pastimes while utilizing that same sense of joyous, urgency-fueled celebration.

So dive in, join the festivities, discover a welcoming space, and perhaps make some new friends along the way.

For my nieces, Alyssa & Jordan, who take after me in all the best ways

W HEN I WAS a freelance writer writing for SYFY WIRE (back when it was still called Blastr), I noticed there werent many other women writing for the site. And there werent very many women visiting the site. I knew there were plenty of people who didnt fit the stereotypical straight, white guy profile who also loved sci-fi, fantasy, horror, comics, and video games. You know, geeks. There were other sites that had covered these topics from a female perspective, but they still didnt really speak my language. I liked all of those things, but not all of the things. And some of the stuff I had never even heard of, though I was curious enough to potentially get into it, but finding an entry point seemed difficult, and like I was somehow still not expressing my fandom the right way. So I decided to create a space where women and nonbinary geeks could write about the stuff they love in a way that was authentic, called FANGRRLS, naming it after the Riot Grrrl movement of the nineties, specifically embracing the progressive tone and DIY culture. There was no litmus test or rule as to what constituted a true fan for FANGRRLS, but it was also about more than just fandom: the majority of media critics have always been straight, white men. And when one demographic has a monopoly on reviewing and critiquing the films, television shows, video games, books, and comics that are being made, that absolutely affects the type of content these studios and publishers create, in that they will continue to focus on content that is well received by that very small, specific audience. Look back through the decades and see how few stories focusing on or created solely by women or people of color have been made. Even in recent years, stories that are led with a diverse cast and/or crew are often met with vitriol for no other reason than theyre different from the status quo. This baffles me to no end, especially since the more time I spent in my role as the founding editor of FANGRRLS, the more I learned about how the sausage is made and who was actually making it from the very beginning.

In 2018, while doing press for the newest installment in the Halloween horror series, actress Jamie Lee Curtis made it her mission to repeatedly bring up the one person without whom the popular horror franchise wouldnt have been possible: Debra Hill. Debra, who passed away in 2005 from ovarian cancer, had produced and cowritten the original