An Underrated Work of Satire

TW: Blood, Guns, Death, Mentions of Violence against Children, Mentions of Bullying, Implied Drug Use, and School Shootings. If you are sensitive to these topics, please exercise caution while reading.

Spoiler Alert: This article contains spoilers for Pico's School

Disclaimer: This is in no way meant to offend, trigger, or shock anybody. I apologize if this article has done so.

Pico's School. A simple flash game, originally made in 1999 by programmer and Newgrounds owner Tom Fulp. It seems harmless enough, doesn't it? Just a small-scale point and click game about school life, there during the beginning of Adobe Flash Player. It'll be cute, right? Wrong. Created shortly after the Columbine shooting, the game was a combination of bitter satire and shock factor that could truly convey the emotions and thoughts of it's creator (if one thought to look below the surface, that is.)

But first, to truly understand the depth of the game's meaning, one would need to know what is going on at the surface level. The game starts in a classroom setting, where Pico and his classmates were learning about fruits. All seems well until the goth student Cassandra goes to the front of the class and starts to scream at the teacher about how, to quote her directly, "the American Education System is bulls**t." Afterwards, Pico blacks out. When he comes to, he finds everyone in his classroom dead but himself. He then goes out to seek Cassandra and the rest of the goths, running into various other students on the way (all of them, with the exception of Nene, being used by Cassandra) and is forced to either kill them or intimidate them in order to pass through the game. To complete the game, Pico would have to kill Cassandra, who is actually an interdimensional being from another world.

(A note from the author: What I have delivered is a watered-down version of events. To truly understand the game, please look up Pico's School on Youtube, please and thank you.)

Now that there is a decent grasp on the game itself, one can begin thinking about the ideas behind it. Among them, I have been able to grasp themes of the poor education system and the effects and results of bullying. These themes have been displayed through the dialogue and actions of not only Pico, but through Cassandra and the other goths, and even in the items supplied in the game.

First of all, let's talk about the quality of the school (for these purposes, the quality will be defined as the state of the building, the education, the staff, and the items that could be found throughout.) There are many strange items that could be found throughout the building, with some of them being things such as "medicinal herb" and the gun that Pico keeps with him throughout the game (which was found in the janitor's office.) These in themselves are an indicator about the poor quality of the school and the state of the school environment that both of those items are not only present, but also relied on by Pico. These items are both, of course, also contraband in the school (which you would know if you have been in a school ever.)

Another piece would be that of the lesson plan. Pico and his classmates (all of them presumed to be ages 16-18) were learning about apples and bananas. Take a minute to think about that. You would not be asked who out of you has eaten apples and bananas. However, there are many things that you would feel are just as irrelevant, which could make this a nod at the poor curriculum. And of course, there is also Cassandra and her quote about the American school system, which is a rather direct approach of conveying the message.

The other point I would like to address is the heavy mentions of bullying and how it may have been what pushed the goths over the edge. All of the goths repeatedly mention how they had been bullied for their appearances and their taste in music, which lead them to revolt. Combine that with Cassandra, who was able to pretty easily manipulate them to taking action before killing them and fighting Pico on her own, and it goes to show how bullying can have rather fatal consequences, whether it be the victims or the bullies being the fatalities (which mirrors events such as school shootings.)

All of these factors make it quite the commentary on the events of Columbine, if you take the time to look at Pico in a different light. If you are able to take the time to understand that Pico was not made to mock the victims or to shock society. Pico was made to show the fatal flaws in school culture, with them having brought to light by Columbine. Or so I think.

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