Instructional Documentary Films

In essence, all nonfiction films are instructional. But there are thousands of documentary films that are designed specifically to teach viewers how to do a vast range of things they've always wanted to do--everything from playing acoustic, electric, folk or blues guitar at beginning or advanced levels to planting petunias that are guaranteed to grow, from belly dancing for weigh loss or seduction to white water rafting with thrills and no spills, to more serious goals, such as managing to live longer and stronger with HIV/AIDS or surviving bankruptcy.

Fortunately, all instructional documentaries are available on DVD and/or VHS. But with such a great profusion of subjects--and of titles about each subject--how do you find the doc that really talks to you and is most appropriate to help you pursue your specific goals?

The answer is obvious, and simple: Browse and compare.

It's probably best to begin at your local well-stocked video store, where a hopefully helpful and well-informed salesperson can, at the very least, send you to the right racks. If you find the store's selection of titles insufficient to allow you to compare offerings, turn to the Internet--always a great source of informational results in quests like this one. You'll find 555 titles catalogued at the New York Public Library, 824 titles at the University of North Carolina Library, and 4,875 titles at Amazon.com (UK). Try {link url=http://www.google.com]Google[/link] and Yahoo! for even more titles.

Once you've determined your title of choice, if you have difficulty locating a copy of the DVD or VHS, track down the name and contact of the distributor and inquire about availability. You can often order instructional documentaries directly from their distributors.