Bill and Ted
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Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves as the lovable goofballs Bill and Ted in 1989’s “Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure.” (COURTESY OF ORION PICTURES)

Recently, I introduced my wife to the “Bill and Ted” movies. She was largely won over by their goofy and sincere charm, but what surprised us both, given the good-natured feel of these films, was the usage of the word “fag” in the films — once in “Excellent Adventure” and twice in “Bogus Journey.”

It is an unfortunate fact that this is something you’ll stumble upon quite frequently in films — particularly comedies — from the mid-1970s to the early 1990s. It ran most rampant in the 1980s, probably in response to queer fear fueled by the AIDS epidemic. When you come upon an example of it, it is often wince-inducing and dates films that otherwise hold up well.

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