There is a wide range of ways in which people have represented apartheid in popular culture. During (1948–1994) and following the apartheid era in South Africa, apartheid has been referenced in many books, films, and other forms of art and literature.
- Goodbye Bafana (2007), about Nelson Mandela's censor, James Gregory.
- Invictus (2009), starring Matt Damon and Morgan Freeman and directed by Clint Eastwood. A film based on Nelson Mandela's role in the 1995 Rugby World Cup in South Africa. The story is based on the John Carlin book Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game That Changed a Nation.
- Stander (2003), about the South African police officer-turned-bank-robber André Stander, during the 1970s and 1980s.
- Lethal Weapon 2 (1989), starring Mel Gibson and Danny Glover, about two LAPD detectives investigating a South African diplomat who runs a drug smuggling ring.
- Cry Freedom (1987), about the activist Stephen Biko and journalist Donald Woods
- The Power of One (1992), based on the novel by Bryce Courtenay
- Sarafina!, a musical that premiered in 1988, depicting the Soweto Riots.
- Cry, the Beloved Country (1951), based on the 1948 novel by Alan Paton
- A Dry White Season (1989), based on the novel by André Brink
- The Wilby Conspiracy, a 1975 thriller directed by Ralph Nelson, based on the 1972 novel by Peter Driscoll
- A World Apart, a 1988 anti-apartheid drama written by Shawn Slovo and directed by Chris Menges
- Bopha!, a 1993 drama directed by Morgan Freeman and starring Danny Glover
- The Color of Friendship, a 2000 Disney Channel Original Movie
- In My Country (2004), based on the 1998 book Country of My Skull by Antjie Krog, about the findings of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission
- Catch a Fire (2006), based on the story of Patrick Chamusso, an apolitical man who becomes a guerrilla fighter at the height of apartheid.
- Amandla!: A Revolution in Four-Part Harmony (Australia, 2002)
- Red Dust (2004), starring Hilary Swank, based on the novel Red Dust by Gillian Slovo, about the Truth and Reconciliation Commission trials that gave amnesty to those who told the whole truth about atrocities committed during the apartheid era.
- Skin (2008), based on the book When She Was White: The True Story of a Family Divided by Race by Judith Stone, about Sandra Laing, a South African woman born to white parents, who was classified as "Coloured" during the apartheid era.
- District 9 (2009); the title and premise of District 9 were inspired by events that took place in District Six, Cape Town, during the apartheid era.
- Black Butterflies (2011), named after the poem by Ingrid Jonker, daughter of Abraham Jonker. Nelson Mandela used her poem "The Child" in his first speech in the South African Parliament in 1994.
