Connotation and Denotation

I learnt that the meanings associated with what we see are often different. We use the term denotative to refer to the actual process of seeing an object and we use the term connotative to refer to the meanings associated with what we see. If you make the connotations that the producer of the media text meant to make, this is called a preferred reading. If you make different connotations from those the producer intended, then this is called oppositional readings.

Denotation of fire would be Combustion or burning, in which substances combine chemically with oxygen from the air and typically give out bright light, heat, and smoke.

However connotations could be danger, smoke, death, or even warmth and comfort for some people.