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[Serious] Is it illegal to watch hollywood movies with sex and nudity in them publicly ? (Not pornog
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Depends on where you're located and other factors.
In the US you cannot show any 'Hollywood' movie in public as you almost certainly haven't obtained the requisite permissions to do so.
If it's a private gathering with no money changing hands then have at it.
The PG, PG-13 and 17 ratings are merely MPAA industry guidelines that most venues choose to follow.
There are no hard and fast laws however that'll block someone from watching even an NC-17 or unrated movies with anyone. Some states may have rules on porn where other states may have nothing.
In the US you cannot show any 'Hollywood' movie in public as you almost certainly haven't obtained the requisite permissions to do so.
If it's a private gathering with no money changing hands then have at it.
The PG, PG-13 and 17 ratings are merely MPAA industry guidelines that most venues choose to follow.
There are no hard and fast laws however that'll block someone from watching even an NC-17 or unrated movies with anyone. Some states may have rules on porn where other states may have nothing.
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Sorry for the misunderstanding I don't mean like that.
I mean lets say your in a store, airport, etc waiting is it then illegal to watch hollywood movies with sex and nudity in them? For example on your phone or tablet. It is only you watching but people can overlook and see what your watching of course easily. Lets say they catch a glimpse of nudity or sex scene ? I know that is crazy thinking this would be illegal but you never know.
There have been thousands of movies (I’d guess) portraying nudity and sex (not pornography) in theaters and continue to be shown without controversy, that I’m aware of. Why would you assume there are no lawyers here and what prompts the illegality question? Where do you live? That might have a bearing. 
Update: After looking at new posts, are you asking if it’s illegal to look at a nudity and depictions of sex on your phone (for example) while sitting in a public space? My answer is no.
Update: After looking at new posts, are you asking if it’s illegal to look at a nudity and depictions of sex on your phone (for example) while sitting in a public space? My answer is no.
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If you're in a private business, they reserve the right to kick you out for displaying pornography on your 12.9" iPad in the toy section, but you won't be persecuted for it
Probably not illegal (but, I’ll bet there are some more conservative jurisdictions where local law enforcement might like to charge someone who did that openly with some sort of disturbing the peace or public indecency charge). That said, watching a movie like that in any public setting is completely inappropriate and no one with common sense (or any sense of decency) would so so.
Think there's a bit of a difference where there's a three second moment of full frontal nudity in an otherwise 2 hour movie, vs. outright porn. In addition, it's much harder to notice what's going on on the smaller sized screen of an iPhone vs. a TV or bigger screen - even if one is looking over a shoulder.
Most movies and TV shows these days have quick fast cuts and unless your eyes are fixed on the screen it's easy to totally miss things when watching on an iPhone. A stranger sitting next to someone watching a movie on their iPhone, AirPods in the ear, will quite possibly be totally oblivious to what's going on, even if Sharon Stone were to uncross her legs mid-movie.
I don’t know. Maybe I’m a prude, but I would never dream of watching anything with any nudity in public.
There was a time in the old days where they DID show that stuff in movie theaters... in 1970 at least
https://news.avclub.com/read-this-what-happened-to-the-porn-theaters-in-times-1798247217
news was a thing in movie theaters too...
How times have changed. now we have this thing called "the internet'
If its in your in your house, then its ok..
but not out in public,, *outdoor movie screens* etc today.. Not only may you get lots of attention from guys, u may also attract the wrong kind of attention as well
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I’m a First Amendment lawyer/scholar. When we’re talking about this kind of thing, we’re dealing in hypothetical factual scenarios. I could think of some hypotheticals where the government could probably get a court to uphold this kind of restriction, but they would be very, very narrow. It would have to be punishing only extremely blatant behavior. Generally speaking, it would be extremely hard for a federal/state/local entity to prohibit this, in a manner consistent with the First Amendment (i.e., even if you only want to prohibit the worst behavior, it is hard to draft something like this without it being struck down as unconstitutionally vague or overbroad).
Over the last century, states/local entities have tried to restrict a whole lot of different kinds of expression under a “breach of peace” rationale. They have gotten struck down as unconstitutional a lot.
[doublepost=1520902233][/doublepost]To add, what makes this particularly challenging constitutionally to prohibit is that in the area of First Amendment, unlike most other areas of constitutional law, there is a special overbreadth doctrine that allows you to bring a challenge to a law that is overly broad on its face (i.e., it COULD be used to prohibit constitutionally protected expression), even if what YOU are doing actually could be punished without violating the constitution.
In most other areas, if you are doing something that the government is allowed to punish, it is no defense to say that someone else could unfairly get punished under the law. Not so here.
Over the last century, states/local entities have tried to restrict a whole lot of different kinds of expression under a “breach of peace” rationale. They have gotten struck down as unconstitutional a lot.
[doublepost=1520902233][/doublepost]To add, what makes this particularly challenging constitutionally to prohibit is that in the area of First Amendment, unlike most other areas of constitutional law, there is a special overbreadth doctrine that allows you to bring a challenge to a law that is overly broad on its face (i.e., it COULD be used to prohibit constitutionally protected expression), even if what YOU are doing actually could be punished without violating the constitution.
In most other areas, if you are doing something that the government is allowed to punish, it is no defense to say that someone else could unfairly get punished under the law. Not so here.
Not sure if it's illegal, but it's not tasteful. Especially if you were watching a film like Showgirls in a doctor's office. That film was borderline pornography.
On a recent plane ride, I was watching some of the old Generation Kill miniseries, and there was a scene when one of the characters went to use the bathroom (or, really, drop a deuce by the side of the road). They showed half of his bare butt for maybe two seconds. Out of respect for the people sitting on either side of me, I covered the character with my hand until the next shot.
Think of it this way --
If you wouldn't watch the film with your mother-in-law because of sex n' nudity, you probably shouldn't be playing it in a public space.
(although there is merit to statik13 saying, "Far more worried about kids being exposed to violence on TV and film." Some cultures greatly curtail violence on TV and don't worry so much about sex. But that's another topic...)
I remember a long time ago when my late mother and I went to a heating and cooling place to buy a battery for the thermostat that was in her house. I believe my mother was in her 70s at the time. We walkup to the counter and two knuckleheads were actually watching porn on the TV behind the counter facing away from us. Luckily my mother was short 4' 10", couldn't see distances too well and the counter top was relatively high making it so she couldn't see what was going on too well. I coughed real loud to get their attention and nodding towards my mother. Thankfully my mom didn't see what they were doing and they quickly turned it off. I'm sure I could had got them into hot water with their boss, but while I was annoyed I let it slide and quickly bought the battery for the thermostat to get quickly out of there. I still laugh to this day when my mother as we were walking to the car said "What were those nice men doing behind the counter?". I said they were watching wildlife show on TV or something of that nature.
I remember a long time ago when my late mother and I went to a heating and cooling place to buy a battery for the thermostat that was in her house. I believe my mother was in her 70s at the time. We walkup to the counter and two knuckleheads were actually watching porn on the TV behind the counter facing away from us. Luckily my mother was short 4' 10", couldn't see distances too well and the counter top was relatively high making it so she couldn't see what was going on too well. I coughed real loud to get their attention and nodding towards my mother. Thankfully my mom didn't see what they were doing and they quickly turned it off. I'm sure I could had got them into hot water with their boss, but while I was annoyed I let it slide and quickly bought the battery for the thermostat to get quickly out of there. I still laugh to this day when my mother as we were walking to the car said "What were those nice men doing behind the counter?". I said they were watching wildlife show on TV or something of that nature.
That is interesting but agree very wrong.
I suspect the exact legality of this question will be coming to a head some time in the near future, and I'm guessing it's going to involve airlines. There was a time when airlines would only show family-friendly movies, but with personal screens in each seat-back now the norm, I'm seeing a lot more R-rated content on offer. A quick glance at the movie catalog for a flight I'm taking next week indicates that Logan, Snatched, Unforgettable and the Accountant will all be on the menu, and all of these are R-Rated.
Now imagine a passenger wants to watch one of these movies, as is his legal right. Imagine he's seated next to someone who finds graphic violence or nudity disturbing. Does the second passenger have any legal recourse to NOT have that content in their field of vision? Worse, imagine the first passenger is seated next to a minor. If the parent of the minor is offended that their child can see R-rated content without their permission, who would be legally culpable? The passenger who is watching the content, or the airline that provided it?
Now imagine a passenger wants to watch one of these movies, as is his legal right. Imagine he's seated next to someone who finds graphic violence or nudity disturbing. Does the second passenger have any legal recourse to NOT have that content in their field of vision? Worse, imagine the first passenger is seated next to a minor. If the parent of the minor is offended that their child can see R-rated content without their permission, who would be legally culpable? The passenger who is watching the content, or the airline that provided it?
^^^^^ On the flights I’ve flown with potentially-racy movies, the screens’ field of view is restricted with an overlay (you can’t see your neighbor’s screen unless you lean over), and the offensive parts are edited out somehow. They don’t just grab a DVD at Hudson News and plop it in.
Thank you. This will be a interesting topic in the following months.