It all started when I first rented the early Mike Leigh films which did not supply any subtitles. I could not tell what the actors were saying. So I realized that I could watch everything else if I wanted to with subtitles. Even the BBC productions were easier to watch and it made sure that I would not miss the humor because of the language. At any rate, it expanded to pretty much everything and I simply disregard the subtitles if I do not need them. I turn them off for most new shows because they do get in the way of charts, etc.