Nietzsche focuses on the term ressentiment which is the opposition to ones misfortune or illness. He talks about the views of this from both nobility and slaves. Each ones justification of ressentiment is warranted by the class system that is set up, good and evil. The justification from the nobles stand point is because they have the land and wealth this must mean they are good. “We the noble, the good, the beautiful and the happy”. This shows the nobles perspective of themselves being “good” just from their good fortunes and power. On the other hand the slave’s reasoning to be poverty stricken causes them to be “bad” or “evil” which explains their misfortunes. Each uses this concept of their own luck or existing power as a statement of their own morality. The weak take the sense of winning everlasting life as a win against the strong. Their belief in focusing on the evil in the world and the after life inhibits them from enjoying life in general. The strong’s own power and wealth make them already good and they don’t need to focus on the evil or afterlife.
This sense of ressentiment ties in very well with the zombie. People tend to think they are the “good” and the minority or the others are the “evil”. Finding “evil” in the zombie is shown in many zombie narratives. For example in I am Legend Robert Neville believes he is the good of man kind and justifies his killing of the vampires/zombies as “good”. The act of him being human makes his take on ressentiment as him being “good” and the misfortune of the other humans turning into vampires as “evil”. Characters in zombie movies or books need justification of ressentiment to be able to give good reason for the acts they commit towards zombies. The blaming of the zombie is perfect for one to get over the gruesome and inhuman acts they commit. If you consider the zombie “evil”, your actions towards them can be then considered “good”.
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