- Blinded by the Light takes its title from the Springsteen song of the same, and is all about Springsteen's influence on a British-Pakistani teen in the 1980s.
- In Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, Ethan wears a Bruce Springsteen T-shirt.
- In My Science Project, Michael lists Bruce Springsteen as one of his few interests other than cars. He has a poster of Born in the USA in his room.
- In One-Trick Pony, a record executive lists Springsteen as one of the few artists who successfully combined music with spectacle.
- In My Dark Vanessa, Strane and Vanessa listen to "Red Headed Woman" as he drives her back to Atlantica. He smiles slyly, but she turns it off and says, "That's disgusting."
- Nova from Planet Earth Is Blue was named after the line "I was born blue and weathered but I burst just like a supernova."
- In Battle Royale, Shuya Nanahara is a big fan of Springsteen and "Born to Run" especially. Shogo even says to him, "All we can do now is run. We were Born to Run.
- In Cemetery Bird, Jay's dad is a Bruce Springsteen fan, and listens to his music in both 1983 and 2002.
- In Beautiful Music for Ugly Children, Gabe plays songs about freedom on his radio show to celebrate his graduation from high school. One of them is "Born to Run."
- Frasier: In "Passing Fancy", Roz agrees to do a favor for Frasier in exchange for him getting her tickets to Springsteen's concert as she's always wanted to see him live. After the usual sitcom shenanigans, Frasier ends the episode in a Ticket-Line Campout to hold up his end of the deal.Frasier: Oh, you just leave that up to me and Mr. Bruce Springsteen.
Kirby: [nods and raises a fist] The Boss!
Frasier: No, Bruce Springsteen. - Full House: In "The House Meets the Mouse (Part 2)", Jesse mentions him when Michelle is being scolded for being a jerk to her sisters.Danny: Sounds like you were trying to be the boss.Michelle: The princess is the boss!Jesse: Bruce Springsteen is "The Boss"!
- Sesame Street: "Barn in the USA" is a parody of "Born in the USA" in which a group of farm animals describe themselves.
- Top Gear (UK): In the Vietnam special, The BBC provide the presenters with a backup vehicle in case their own bikes break down to the point of irreparability. Said backup is an American flag motorcycle that constantly blares "Born in the USA" (the episode's Re-Release Soundtrack replaces it with "The Star-Spangled Banner" due to licensing issues).
- Veronica Mars: In the first season episode "Hot Dogs", when Logan offers to drive Veronica home, he says, "Come on, I'll drive you on the backstreets."
Music
- David Bowie recorded Cover Versions of "Growin' Up" and "It's Hard to Be a Saint in the City" during the sessions for Diamond Dogs and Station to Station, respectively. The former song resurfaced on reissues of both that album and Pin Ups, while the latter song was included on the 1989 Boxed Set Sound + Vision.
- In Hotline Miami, since they’re part of an violently patriotic group, the password for the Janitors' computer ends up being "I Was Born In The USA". Adding to the reference, the achievement you get for figuring it out is called "The Boss".
- DuckTales (1987): In "Raiders of the Lost Harp", Scrooge sees a line of cars outside the Duckburg Museum and says that his new exhibit is "more popular than a Bruce Springchicken concert".
- Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends: In "Schlock Star", Pizza Party's album/single cover is a parody of the cover art for Born in the U.S.A..
