What sucks is getting older and having a hard time hearing dialog. I can hear everything else fine but dialog is becoming harder to discern every year.

I saw Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon (I think maybe I got that right) in the theater and had to sit in the front row because those were the only seats available. Everybody said what a beautiful movie that was but I wouldn't know. I spent the whole time reading the subtitles and seeing only the bottom 10% of the screen.

i don't read them the entire movie, just during parts that the sound balance is all fucky. so just during movies made since 2005

Those of us who prefer subtitles read fast enough that we only need to flick our eyes down briefly to read them. We don't miss what's going on.

I can see the movie / TV show, but the shots are ruined.

Cinematographers spend so much effort coming up with the perfect shot. They have amazing lighting, the perfect angles, the subject framed exactly right, the focus is perfect, with the background being blurred exactly the right amount.

And then some jerk ruins all that work by slapping text all over their perfect shot.

It's like trying to listen to a good song while a DJ talks over it. Or, like trying to taste a delicious meal while someone is smoking next to you.

Tell them to fix their sound. Whispering dialogue and screaming explosions can work if you balance it right. Also probably fix tv sound systems they're ridiculous sometimes