Movies, TV shows, videos, etc. that are better with the sound muted

Cafe Society
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This is NOT supposed to be a simple listing of “shows I hate.” There has to be some value for the visuals

For whatever value of “better” you like.

  1. Sports. All sports. This is the real reason you see all the big screen TVs in bars and restaurants tuned to sports shows exclusively: you don’t need the sound to follow the action. For the most part all you need is a box giving the basic info (frex, for football, score, down, yds to go; for baseball, inning, no. of outs, ball/strike count, for basketball, quarter and score). The sound is superfluous and uninteresting. In football it may be useful to keep the sound set on low volume so loud cheering can alert you to long passes, long run, touchdowns, etc.) You still don’t want to hear the mindless yammering of the sports announcers.

  2. Porn. Applies to both hardcore and softcore: the fakey noises the actresses make to show they are ecstatic are so unconvincing that all they do is give you the conviction that you are watching a woman who is not ecstatic at all but is concentrating hard on doing a job, and doing it badly. With the video on you at least have pretty naked women writhing.

  3. Fishing shows. You get lots of shots of lakes and water. The narratives are generally unremarkable and distracting. Great for falling asleep to!

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My husband and I like to watch shows about cats and dogs on Animal Planet. Often the narration is so vapid that we mute the sound and just enjoy the critters without the annoying human voice-overs. We may miss an occasional mew or yip, but it’s nice not to have to listen to some guy constantly pointing out how cute the animals are.

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  1. Depends on the commentator. A good commentator adds to the experience, e.g. Vin Scully for baseball. I think one of the reasons that a lot of argument happens about the quality of commentators is because commentators actually are important to most people’s sports viewing experience.
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A lot of HGTV shows are better with the sound off. I can look at interesting houses, see some remodeling work done, but not have to listen to all the drama.

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Showgirls

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For similar reasons to porn?

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Commercials. I mute the sound and act out my own version of the commercial.

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“Deal or no Deal”. The briefcase girls are good eye candy. The chatter of and banter with the contestant is dumb and annoying. And you can tell exactly what’s going on with the game without the sound.

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Right. Naked ladies + Naked ladies cat-fighting.