What is a genre and sub-genre?

Genre refers to different categories of an artistic composition, a movie poster will usually make the genre of a movie obvious to consumers, so that if a viewer saw the poster they will already know what the movie could be about. There are many different genres in the film industry, here are a few examples:

• Comedy
• Horror
• Romance
• Adventure
• Action
• Fantasy

The movie poster on the right is of a teen comedy film named "Easy A", many elements of the promotional poster state to the viewer what the film will be about, in this case the background is of a chalk board which is usually related to school, so consumers will immediately identify that the movie takes place at school and is related to teens. Also, the piece of paper she is holding suggests "rumour's" and "reputation" all that is often associated to teenage girls and schools worrying about their reputation and the rumours surrounding them.  

On the other hand, a sub-genre is simply a genre within a genre. Many books or movies that are fiction often have a wide range of sub-genres for example:

• Historical fiction: Set in the past and based on real events and people
• Science fiction: Has aliens, robots, futuristic technology and spaceships
• Realistic fiction: Has no elements of fantasy; could be true but isn't
• Fantasy: Has monsters, magic or characters with superpowers

The "Harry Potter" film series has many different genres and sub-genres, it is mainly a children's fantasy but contains elements of mystery, thriller, romance and a coming of age novel. However, it can also be put under the "boarding school" sub-genre, which includes many other great films or novels about boarding schools.