Samet is an art teacher finishing a required post at a remote school in eastern Anatolia. He counts the days until he can move to Istanbul, but a complaint from a girl in his class puts his plans at risk. The complaint follows his handling of her love letter and his too-close, favored treatment of her. Samet then fights with his colleague Kenan and becomes drawn to Nuray, a teacher who lost a leg in a bombing. The film is slow, cold, talk-heavy, and often uncomfortable as it studies a selfish man who wants escape but cannot face his own behavior.
The clearest woke element is the long dinner debate between Samet and Nuray about equality, refugees, rape, freedom, solidarity, socialism, and the duty to act. Nuray supports public action and helping others, while Samet defends personal freedom and mocks group loyalty. The film also shows sexist school officials, police checks, and the limits of public education in a poor rural area. These ideas are important in one major stretch and in the film's view of male power and apathy, but they do not turn the whole story into a diversity or identity campaign.
Community feedback
Was our 40% Woke rating accurate?
Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for About Dry Grasses.
Woke representation / casting
Not present. The main cast is Turkish and fits the Turkish setting. Nuray's lost leg is explained by her backstory, and the film does not present the casting as a broader diversity message.
0%
Woke political dialogue
Nuray repeatedly asks Samet what he does for society. The long dinner scene names equality, refugees, rape, freedom, solidarity, socialism, and public action. Samet rejects group ideology and questions equality, so the film presents a debate rather than a one-sided speech. These ideas matter in one major stretch and return in the film's concern with apathy.
47%
Identity-driven story themes
The film repeatedly places Samet's selfishness and control beside Nuray's courage and concern for other people. Nuray is a politically active woman who lost a leg in a bombing, and she challenges Samet's view of freedom and duty. Samet's favoritism toward Sevim, a schoolgirl, and his effort to use Nuray in his rivalry with Kenan expose male power and entitlement. The film makes these gender and power issues important, but it does not build a wider identity campaign around them.
36%
Western institutional / cultural critique
The film shows sexist school officials and a public education system that leaves teachers stuck in a poor rural area. The film also shows police ID checks and asks whether educated people should act when society suffers. Samet's male entitlement is criticized through his treatment of Sevim and Nuray. The critique is mild and local, rather than a broad attack on Christianity or Western culture.
19%
Woke character or canon changes
Not relevant. The film is an original drama drawn from a co-writer's teacher diary. It does not change established characters, canon, or real historical figures.
0%
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
Not present. The supplied X research found no anti-woke complaints. Other searches found film discussion and isolated political opinions, but no sustained claim that the title pushes woke or DEI messaging.
0%
Creator track record context
Ceylan's work often watches class, power, and social tension, and he made one major civic statement at Cannes. Aksu and Ebru Ceylan have no clear pattern of activist or DEI messaging, while Türemen's public work is mainly about ecology, art, and cultural freedom. This gives the film some social context, but the key creators do not show a strong identity-politics track record.
24%
Production
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