The subject of this article falls within the sociology of art. By analyzing selected aspects of a novel (Bolesław Prus’s The Doll) and a film (the Oscar-winning Green Book directed by Peter Farrelly), the author raises the problem of what he calls “ambiguous hospitality.” His point of departure and theoretical basis are George Ritzer’s concept of “inhospitality” and Jacques Derrida’s idea of “hostipitality.” The author treats each artistic depiction of reality as a source of situations to be read in light of elements of Erving Goffman’s reflections. He uses the ideas of symbolic interactionism, the interactive ritual, and the metaphor of the performance as tools for interpreting a film or literary situation that illustrates cultural attitudes and practices. In conclusion, he states that hosting someone could result from something other than a sincere desire to react to another human being in a friendly manner. However, this does necessarily undermine the sincerity of openness toward strangers. Realization of the maxim to “have dignity and respect others,” even if enforced by social sanction, can be a way to maintain or build relationships between those who are “one’s own” and “other,” “one’s own” and “strangers,” and finally, between a guest and host.