Misused: Narm

I'm sure I'm not the first one to bring this up, but Narm could seriously use a better description, at the very least.

A lot of users Square Peg Round Trope it to just use for complaining, but there are plenty of people who legitimately don't understand what Narm is for.

Narm is a moment intended to be DRAMATIC, but comes off as COMEDIC.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but Narm is not:

• A joke that breaks the tension of a scene. That's not meant as a dramatic moment, so it does not count as Narm. Level Breaker, maybe?

• A joke that just flops. Same principle, not meant to be dramatic, so it is not narm.

• A moment that is played straight, BUT not played for drama. Ex: "Thanos looks like a grape." "CGI unconvincing during a non-dramatic scene." The moment in question is not meant to be dramatic, so it does not fall under narm.

• A thing you get used to over time. Often a logo or an art style. This one overlaps with nitpicking sometimes. Essentially, a surface-level judgment that no longer bothers you once you finally see the work. Like "It is impossible to take anything in Adventure Time seriously, with its loosey-goosey art-style." Or "It is impossible to take anything Captain America does seriously since you're always reminded that he's the same actor who played the Human Torch."
  • By the time you actually watch the work, it doesn't bother you. This one is a little trickier, but rule of thumb is a knee-jerk reaction to a costume, actor, or logo unveiling does not count as narm.

  • Now, what if the hero has the silliest costume you've ever seen? Then you describe any dramatic moments in the film where the costume pulls you out of the scene and makes the scene funny instead. And ideally, explain why it is meant to be dramatic but is funny instead.

Well yes, but before opening a TRS on such a large trope we need evidence for a problem. And that isn't here, really.