It makes fun of gamified learning and the awkward ways in which schools implement it. On a deeper level, though, it speaks to a more universal fear: the fear of being a bad student.
As children, we all know how awful it is to feel sick to our stomachs when a math problem doesn't make sense or when we get in trouble with our teachers. Those anxieties are heightened by the game. Feeling helpless when asked a question you don't have the answers to reflects in the intractable inquiries. You can't get away from academic pressure, and it gets worse the more you try to, and Baldi's pursuit becomes a physical representation of it.
