On Togo, Angola and Soccer on the Continent of Africa, Pt. 3

Was this Michael Mann’s fault?

In 1995, Michael Mann’s Heat was released, starring Robert De Niro and Al Pacino.  In the United States, it was a box office success that garnered critical acclaim.  It was also highly profitable in South Africa, but not so much as a feature film as an instructional how-to.  The film, which opens with a methodical armored car heist, became the template for dozens of similar crimes in South Africa over the next decade.  Basically, Michael Mann provided henchmen with a step-by-step on how to engage, disable and disarm large armored vehicles with the use of some tire spikes and machine guns and Val Kilmer.  Without an accurate account of what exactly took place on Friday in Angola, any suggestion that the real criminal mastermind behind the attack was actually Michael Mann would be purely speculation, but it should be noted that Africa, as a whole, is frequently subject to copycat criminals.  Just look at what’s happened on the Somali coast after the resounding success of Jerry Bruckheimer’s Pirates of the Caribbean franchise.  There are now literally hundreds of young, black Jack Sparrows prowling the Indian Ocean.  If there is an upcoming summer blockbuster about criminal masterminds executing a fail-proof plan to incite mayhem at a major sporting event, I suggest that Hollywood pushes its release until after this July 11.  Their blueprint for evil genius will significantly less useful when the tourists and their money have left South Africa.