Studio System: Yay or Nay?

I'm not sure how many know what the studio system is exactly, but it deals with the conglomeration of all facets of movie production into the hands of one corporation. In other words, one company controls the making of a movie from conception to ascillery markets. There are benefits to this such as increased available resources. That way moviegoers can have the cool special effects in Star Wars and the Matrix as well as exotic locales and sets in Lord of the Rings. However, one of the many drawbacks is that studios tend to focus only on productions that will yield major money. This can choke out creativity commonly seen on the indie market. So what does everyone think? I actually prefer the independent approach because I think proper technique and story telling far outweigh special effect and exotic locales. But that's just me.

SC