For several decades, different and varied audiovisual products have been worked on every day. Movies, series, advertisements, songs, shorts, animations, etc., are released on various platforms to be seen by the public. There is so much material that inevitably and for different reasons will be lost over time and will become known as Lost Media.
Literally translated as 'lost material', the Lost Media has generated passionate communities around the world. These people try to find audiovisual productions that are no longer available. There is even a wiki dedicated exclusively to this topic.
What is Lost Media?
La República contacted the content creator Yisus 九who usually uploads videos about Lost Media on his YouTube channel. “The Lost Media is any material or record of any audiovisual medium. These can be animation projects, music, movies, video games, etc.,” he explains.
“These are projects that were developed and worked on, but never saw the light of day or are lost,” adds the YouTuber. According to Yisus, the Lost Media It had a great peak during the quarantine, when the community was able to grow.
“It all started with videos of icebergs, as is the case with 'Super Mario Bros 64'. These clips showed lost things,” said the lost material enthusiast.
It should be noted that 'Lost Media' It is a very broad term and many people also use it to refer to lost things not related to audiovisuals, while certain sectors of the community claim that the Lost Media It can only be transmitted through the media.
What are the most iconic Lost Media cases in Peru?
Being a very extensive country and rich in history, Peru has a large amount of Lost Media. According to YouTuber Yisus, much of the Peruvian audiovisual content produced before the 1980s is lost.
The palmistry commercial
One of the cases of Lost Media most sought after Peruvians is the palmistry commercial, a spot launched in the 90s by the Telemercado chain, currently Quality Products.
“This spot was broadcast for the first time on Panamericana Televisión late at night. It was about a ceramic hand with a mannequin head spinning around on a dark background. A book on palmistry was promoted. (…) In the background, dark music similar to that of 'The Exorcist' was heard,” says Yisus.
Currently, the palmistry commercial is completely lost and only two recreations can be found on the internet.
'The tales of the countrywoman Jacinta'
Another iconic case is that of 'The Tales of the Countrywoman Jacinta'. “It was a children's program where Jacinta made friends with a mouse named Mantecoso, who gave her a magic cheese with which she shrank. This way, he could take her to her house and tell her stories about her like Little Red Riding Hood, Snow White and The 3 Little Pigs,” says the content creator.
The episodes of 'The Tales of the Countrywoman Jacinta' are not available. There are no preserved scenes and you can only see its television introduction on YouTube, which was recently recovered.
Most Peruvians remember how funny and entertaining the show 'Pataclaun' was, but what many did not know is that one of its most iconic characters had a spin-off in 1995.
'Shenanigans with Monchi'
“'Travesuras con Monchi' was a children's program produced by ATV. People who saw it do not remember it in a good way, since the character did very strange things like bathing in mud. The actress was not satisfied with the treatment of Monchi. In her own words, they did not give her creative freedom,” says YouTuber Yisus.
'Travesuras con Monchi' only lasted two weeks on the air and the only thing that remains of the program is a black and white poster.
The 'Travesuras con Monchi' poster, the only thing that remains of the series. Photo: Lost Media Wiki
The first film from Peru
Probably one of the cases of Lost Media In Peru the most important is that of the first film made in the country. 'Business to the water', from 1913 and filmed by the poet Federico Blume y Corbacho, is completely missing.
The media of the time gave it very positive reviews. The only known copy was owned by Percy Buzagio. After his death, the tape was inherited by his family.
This is where the film is lost, since no one knows if the rolls are damaged or what the whereabouts of the only copy is.
The most prominent Lost Media cases internationally
There are several thousand recorded cases of Lost Media worldwide. Among the best known and sought after are the lost episodes of 'Doctor Who', the long-running British science fiction series. A large number of episodes from the first seasons were deleted or lost by the BBC.
'London after midnight' is one of the most sought after lost films in history. A silent horror film from 1927 starred Lon Chaney. The last known copy was lost in a fire that left only photographs and accounts of its contents.
Until now we have not mentioned video games, an important part of the Lost Media. From highly anticipated titles to minor projects, many never saw the light of day. A famous example is 'Starcraft: Ghost', an action-adventure game based on the StarCraft universe that was canceled after years of development and anticipation.
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