History Main / PinchMe

* In the live action ''Film/{{Scooby Doo}}'' Shaggy and Scooby come across a buffet of hot dogs in a forbidding castle (ignoring the suspiciousness of that, of course).

* In the live action ''Film/{{ScoobyDoo}}'' Shaggy and Scooby come across a buffet of hot dogs in a forbidding castle (ignoring the suspiciousness of that, of course).

-->'''Joe''': Quick punch me in the arm so I know I'm not dreaming!!!...Ok I'm definetly not dreaming because that really hurt!!!
-->'''Kevin'''{{Comically Missing the Point}}: Unless you're dreaming that it hurt so that was a dream hurt
-->'''Nick'''(sofly punches Kevin): Was that dream hurt or regular hurt?

* ''Series/{{Wizards of Waverly Place}}'': Justin says this line upon meeting Rosie.
--->''Justin'': I feeling like this is all a dream like someone should pinch me...AWWWW NELVIS!!!!

* Used humorously in {{The Suite Life of Zack and Cody}}:
---->''Carey'': I'm dreaming...NO ONE PINCH ME!
*Later subverted in {{The Suite Life on Deck}}: Bailey realizes she is dreaming when London calls her "the prettiest girl in the whole world" and tries to pinch herself to wake up, naturally finding that she can't feel anything in a dream.
** {{Jonas LA}}:--->''Joe'': Quick punch me in the arm so I know I'm not dreaming!!!...Ok I'm definetly not dreaming because that really hurt!!!
----->''Kevin''{{Comically Missing the Point}}: Unless you're dreaming that it hurt so that was a dream hurt
----->''Nick''(sofly punches Kevin): Was that dream hurt or regular hurt?

* ''Series/StarTrekVoyager''. When an embedded subconscious trigger caused characters to realize they were asleep, they were able to will themselves awake.

* {{Dog With a Blog}}: Karl and Avery pinch other to detect if they are in one of Avery's kissing dreams.
* {{The Nanny}}: Fran has a {{Dream Within a Dream}} about having huge feet and then waking up to Mr Sheffield making out with her after she tells him about it. When she wakes up for real, she pinches herself to make sure she isn't still dreaming.

* Subverted in the comic book ''{{JLA}}''. The heroes are trapped in a dream-machine by the villain The Key; however, the machine is constructed so that realizing that they're dreaming and awakening will provide the energy for the machine's true function.

* In the live action ''Film/{{ScoobyDoo}}'' Shaggy and Scooby come across a buffet of Hotdogs in a forbidding castle (ignoring the suspiciousness of that, of course).
-->'''Shaggy''': Wow! Look at this, Scoob! It's like a medieval Sizzler! Pinch me I'm in heaven--OW! It's just an expression, Scoob!\\

* {{Wizards of Waverly Place}}: Justin says this line upon meeting Rosie.

-->''Pinch me''\\

''That I'm still asleep.''
-->-Music/BarenakedLadies, "Pinch Me."

----->''Kevin''{Comically Missing the Point}: Unless you're dreaming that it hurt so that was a dream hurt

* {{Dog With a Blog}}: Karl and Avery pinch other to detect if they are in one of Avery's {{Erotic Dream}}kissing dreams.

-->"Pinch me"\\
"Pinch me"\\
"'Cuz I'm still"\\
"Asleep"\\
"Please God"\\
"Tell me"\\
"That I'm still asleep."

* In ''LuckyStar'', doujinshi artist Hiyori is approached at Comiket by a man who offers her an opportunity to write for Comptiq. She pinches her cheek, finds that it hurts, and thinks for a moment that it was reality... until she wakes up and discovers that she was, indeed, dreaming, and can feel pain in a dream.

* Many a {{shonen}} hero has managed to free himself from a villain's illusion by the use of self-inflicted pain (e.g., stabbing himself in the leg, breaking his own finger, etc...) like [[{{Naruto}} Sasuke Uchiha]] during the Chuunin Exam in his first fight against Orochimaru or [[TriGun Vash the Stampede]] while facing an opponent that could nullifying all of his senses for a few seconds. The above example in ''Manga/AkameGaKill'' was caused by Tatsumi remembering that his mentor Bulat did this to overcome hypnosis.

-->'''Phoenix:''' Right now, I can't believe any of this! I'm not even sure if this day has been some kind of [[Creator/FranzKafka Kafkaesque]] dream... '''gets whipped by Franziska''' OWWW!!!

* Many a {{shonen}} hero has managed to free himself from a villain's illusion by the use of self-inflicted pain (e.g., stabbing himself in the leg, breaking his own finger, etc...) like [[{{Naruto}} Sasuke Uchiha]] during the Chuunin Exam in his first fight against Orochimaru or [[TriGun Vash the Stampede]] while facing an opponent that could nullifying all of his senses for a few seconds.

-->'''Shaggy''': Wow! Look at this, Scoob! It's like a Medical Sizzler! Pinch me I'm in heaven--OW! It's just an expression, Scoob!\\

[[folder: Machinima]]

* At the near end of ''Machinima/Supermarioglitchy4sSuperMario64Bloopers''' "The Mario Parable", when Narrator sends Mario to [[spoiler:be killed]], the latter wonders he's just dreaming, and Narrator accepts with him by saying that everything is not real except him.
-->'''Narrator:''' Of course. None of this is real. I am real. You are not.
-->'''Mario:''' ''(scene switches to Castle Grounds)'' I am Mario! Of course I am real.

[[/folder]]

* A deleted scene in ''Film/BackToTheFuture'' had Marty telling an old lady to pinch him only to receive a slap for shame realizing he's in 1955 from a newspaper.

-->"Pinch me"\
"Pinch me"\
"'Cuz I'm still"\
"Asleep"\
"Please God"\
"Tell me"\
"That I'm still asleep."\

* One ''CalvinAndHobbes'' story has Calvin falling from a great height. He figures it's just a dream, and that all he has to do is look down and gasp, and then he will wake up. Doesn't work.
* In ''{{Garfield}}'', when Jon learns that a woman wants to go out with him, he says to Garfield: "Pinch me, I must be dreaming!" He then wakes up in his bed, screaming.

* In ''Manga/AkameGaKiru'' when Esdeath and Tatsumi are teleported away to a distant island, Tatsumi, thinking it's an illusion asks Esdese to "hurt me". Esdese is overjoyed, because she thinks this means Tatsumi is a masochist and as an insane sadist with a VillainousCrush on Tatsumi, she thinks this makes them a better match. He quickly corrects her.