Dr. Ari Purnama
Dr. Ari Purnama is an Assistant Professor of Screen Media at Utrecht 木瓜福利影视. His research explores how screen media (film, television, YouTube, TikTok videos) content and digital platforms shape youth mental health and well-being, and the societal perceptions thereof. Next to that, he examines the aesthetics and politics of transnational cinema and the impact of AI-generated media, such as deepfake images and synthetic videos, on public discourse and social and cultural change. Furthermore, he studies screen production cultures in the Global South and the ways in which dominant cinematographic traditions are contested and decolonised. He is also an advocate and practitioner of the creative practice as research methodology, using film and audiovisual storytelling as methods of academic inquiry rather than as mere tools of scientific communication.
How can screen media content production and consumption contribute to youth mental health and mental well-being?
Ari Purnama has been a member of the Utrecht Young Academy, a bridge between young and talented researchers, since 2025.