%% Old pic moved to Narm/JackChick. Discussion here: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1326204594031000100&page=1

->"''Everyone in the theater laughed at this point. Not exactly the reaction you want for your big dramatic moment.''"
-->-- '''TheDistressedWatcher''', on Darth Vader's BigNo from ''Franchise/StarWars : Film/RevengeOfTheSith''

Narm is a moment that is supposed to be serious, but due to either over-sappiness, poor [[SpecialEffectsFailure execution]], excessive {{Melodrama}}, or the sheer [[SoBadItsGood absurdity of the situation]], the drama is lost to the point of surpassing "cheesy" and becoming unintentionally funny.

It is [[TropeNamer named for]] [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IiOKNggPh4Q the famous scene]] in the last season of ''SixFeetUnder'', where the main character Nate suffers a brain embolism. He suddenly grabs his right arm and repeats "Numb arm." (at this moment the scene is still genuinely creepy), but then it quickly degenerates into "N'arm! N'arm!" before he comically rolls up his eyes and drops to the floor. Even though this was the climax of a highly-acclaimed show, fans and critics overwhelmingly found the scene to be funny.

Were you to discuss this phenomenon in a scholarly work or literary circles, the word you would probably use is "{{Bathos}}". Though all the implications of the technical term do not match up exactly (Bathos can be intentionally invoked for humor, for one). If you're talking to non-tropers and don't want to have to make fun of the unintentional [[BlackHumor comedy]] of brain embolisms, [[TVTropesWillRuinYourVocabulary that's probably the word you want to use]].

Not to be confused with the FunnyAneurysmMoment, in which something wasn't meant to be upsetting but is, thanks to later events or unfortunate RealitySubtext.

Narm often stems from a failed attempt to pull off a CrowningMomentOfAwesome, a CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming or a TearJerker. Alternatively, a good performance in a bad movie will evoke Narm because the actor TookTheBadFilmSeriously. Anything that falls under {{Wangst}} and DeusAngstMachina runs the risk of falling under Narm, as what is ''intended'' to be angsty and dramatic can instead come across as over-the-top ridiculous and absurd. In subtitled {{anime}}, Narms are often created through the use of [[GratuitousEnglish badly used English]], with TotallyRadical dialog in general being another rich source of Narm. In dubbed anime, Narms are more likely to result from the combination of a budding [[WilliamShatner William Shatner]] reading an overly-literal translation.

{{Large Ham}}s are vulnerable to this trope. See also NightmareRetardant and many cases of SnarkBait, as well as FetishRetardant for erotica (of which [[IKEAErotica the Swedish home furnishings variety]] is a particularly good source of Narm). Not to be confused with [[TheVietnamWar 'Nam]], or the [[Series/BabylonFive Narn]], or [[Series/SesameStreet OMMM-NOM-NOM-NOM]]. Also not to be confused with the [[PushingDaisies National Area for Retired Mills]], [[http://www.narm.org North American Registry for Midwives]] or the [[http://www.narm.com National Association of Recording Merchandisers.]].

Keep in mind that {{Narm}} is subjective, as one person's [[SoBadItsGood cheese]] is another person's [[NarmCharm charm]]. However, Narm is ''not'' when something simply falls flat or "doesn't work"; this is not a page for simply [[ComplainingAboutShowsYouDontLike complaining about scenes you didn't like]].

A number of examples of {{Narm}} become [[MemeticMutation memes]].

Compare with NarmCharm. Contrast with DudeNotFunny, or ComicalOverreacting.

One more important thing: since it is impossible to list RealLife examples of {{Narm}} in good taste, [[NoRealLifeExamplesPlease please don't put any here.]]
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!!Examples:
* Narm/{{Advertising}}
* Narm/{{Anime}}
* Narm/ComicBooks
* Narm/FanFiction
* Narm/{{Film}}
* Narm/{{Literature}}
* Narm/LiveActionTV
* Narm/{{News}}
* Narm/{{Manga}}
* Narm/{{Music}}
* Narm/ProfessionalWrestling
* Narm/TabletopGames
* Narm/{{Theater}}
* Narm/{{Video Games}}
* Narm/{{Webcomics}}
* Narm/WesternAnimation
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