Key terms & definitions

A film that draws attention to filmmaking or to its own methods of creating images and entertainment.

A film’s acknowledgement or exploration of its own medium and methods, such as showing how lighting and machinery manufacture a romantic atmosphere.

The ability to control one’s behaviour, emotions and attention.

A system in which an industry or organisation monitors and enforces its own standards rather than relying solely on a statutory regulator.

Relying on a community’s own labour and resources rather than outside assistance; this was central to the official presentation of Dazhai.

A research method that gathers information by asking participants to report about themselves.

Research asking participants about their own behaviour; in crime research, it asks about offences they have committed during a stated period.

A questionnaire or interview in which people report their own behaviour or experiences, such as crimes they have committed.

The construction of an image of oneself through choices about what to show, say and leave out.

An excessive confidence in one’s own moral goodness, often accompanied by judgement of others.

A sampling method in which people volunteer to participate, usually by responding to an advertisement or invitation.

Accepting negative stereotypes about a group you belong to and applying them to yourself.

The ability to meet one's needs through one's own resources or livelihood rather than relying on continuing aid.

The ability to support oneself rather than depend on financial assistance from the state or others.

Words or statements a performer says to themselves, silently or aloud. Positive self-talk provides encouragement and reinforces confidence.

A Turkish ruling dynasty whose leaders followed Sunni Islam and held military and political power across much of the eastern Islamic world.

Turkish Muslim rulers and armies who controlled much of Asia Minor in the late eleventh century. Their forces defeated the People’s Crusade in 1096.

The amount received when an item is sold.

The finished edge along the length of woven fabric, which can be used as a reference for grain alignment.

Coding information in terms of its meaning.

A group of words connected by meaning, such as words associated with coldness or death.

A group of words connected by meaning, such as ‘clanking’, ‘rattling’ and ‘thumped’, which all suggest sound.

Long-term memory for facts, concepts and meanings.

A work of fiction that draws partly on its author’s life while reshaping experiences and inventing material.

Writing partly based on the author’s life but shaped through invented characters, events or details.

Half of a circle, formed when a diameter divides the circle into two equal regions.

A punctuation mark that can link closely related independent clauses or separate complex items in a list.

A material with electrical conductivity between that of a conductor and an insulator; its conductivity can change greatly with conditions such as temperature.

A material with electrical conductivity between that of a conductor and an insulator, whose conductivity can be controlled. It is used to make components such as transistors and integrated circuits.

A column partly embedded in a wall rather than standing independently.