Kaotic Drumline: Drumming With a Difference

The documentary presents an insightful nexus of art and empowerment, of music and upliftment, via its interactions with a group of musicians. With its six-member group, the youngest being seven years old, the film engages with the significance of drums as a source of inspiration, hope, and motivation.

The two voices in the documentary introduce the viewer to a world of drumlines, and the ideas that this particular group stands for. Drumlines have been part of marching bands of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) for decades, now forming a thriving culture of competition and creative overlaps in Chicago which is precisely what the film explores.

From choreography consisting of successive swift movements to deft tricks with drumsticks, the narrative engages with all the various elements of the performance, alongside the emotional significance that it carries for the performers. Though the editing of the end result evidences a slight choppiness, the film presents relevant social and cultural explorations of art, performance, and their relationship with society at large.